Thick-billed Siskin
Spinus crassirostris
Scarce and local throughout its range, and rarely encountered. Found in varied scrubby montane habitats, especially Polylepis groves. Feeds in shrubs and on the ground, often in pairs and small groups; associates readily with other siskins. Both sexes resemble the much commoner and more widespread Hooded Siskin (absent in central Chile), but Thick-billed Siskin is stockier with a relatively large, deep bill. Varied songs and calls overall rather similar to other siskins.
Identification
The thick-billed siskin has an adult length of between 13.5 and 14 centimetres (5.3 and 5.5 in). The bill often has a silvery base and is noticeable thicker than other related siskins. The male closely resembles the hooded siskin (Spinus magellanicus) and has a black head and throat, greenish-yellow upper parts (sometimes streaked with dark markings) and bright yellow underparts. It differs from the hooded siskin in having a whitish-grey midbelly. The immature male has a black head but is otherwise less conspicuous than the mature male, being more greyish-olive above and greyish below. The female is similar but lacks the black head and is altogether much duller in appearance, more greyish-olive, with paler underparts.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Spinus crassirostris
- Authority
- (Landbeck, 1877)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Spinus
Range and habitat
This bird of the high Andes ranges from western Peru and central Chile to northwestern Argentina. Its altitudinal range is 3,000 to 4,000 metres (10,000 to 13,000 ft) in the northern part of its range but descends to 2,100 metres (7,000 ft) further south. Typical habitat is Polylepis woodland and open country with scrub.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
South American Tern
Sterna hirundinacea
Medium-sized tern, mostly restricted to coastal areas. In breeding plumage, strikingly pale gray above and below with an extensive black cap, and an unmarked red bill and legs. The tail reaches beyond the wing tips when at rest. Wings are uniformly pale gray with no black. Nonbreeding birds have a half hood. Juveniles are mottled brown on the back.
Masked Mountain Tanager
Tephrophilus wetmorei
Scarce tanager found in stunted forest at treeline in the high Andes from central Colombia south through Ecuador, barely reaching Peru. Plumage is golden-yellow with a black face and throat; wings are black with some blue markings. Usually found in pairs or small groups that move furtively through the vegetation, often with mixed-species flocks.
Bokmakierie
Telophorus zeylonus
A large, sturdy olive-gray and yellow bushshrike with a distinctive black chest band that arcs up to the bill base, forming a broad necklace. In flight the dark tail has striking yellow tips. The juvenile is dull and lacks the chest band. Pairs are bold in shrubby and open country, where they forage low in bushes or grass clumps, hopping on open ground or running between clumps looking for invertebrates. The species has a varied and complex repertoire of songs and calls, the most characteristic of which is a duetted onomatopoeic “bok-mak-ie-rie,” often delivered from a conspicuous perch.
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