Red Siskin
Spinus cucullatus
A small bird with a unique color pattern. Red-and-black plumage of male is diagnostic; female is salmon-pink and gray. Found in a variety of habitats across its range, including savanna bush islands, forest edge, and disturbed humid premontane forest, but it is generally absent from humid lowland forest regions. Feeds on seeds and fruit, often associating with euphonias. May wander widely and can be difficult to find; population has been greatly reduced by trapping for the cage bird trade. Song is a jumbled series of high-pitched notes, trills, and buzzes; most readily detected by high, clear call note.
识别特征
The red siskin is about 10 cm long. The male is mainly deep red, with black on the head, throat, flight feathers and tail tip, and a whitish lower belly and under tail. The female is grey on the head, breast, and upper parts, apart from a red rump and upper tail. The breast is grey with reddish flanks, and the rest of the underparts, the wings and tail resemble the corresponding areas of the male. Immature females are paler than the adults, and immature males are brown rather than red.
分类信息
- 学名
- Spinus cucullatus
- 命名信息
- (Swainson, 1820)
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Fringillidae
- 属
- Spinus
分布与栖息地
It is native to tropical South America - in northern Colombia, northern Venezuela (where it is called the "cardenalito") and Guyana. It was common in the early 20th century, occurring throughout the foothills of northern Venezuela, but has now become extremely rare in a fragmented range. The population on Trinidad is believed to be extirpated, with no sightings since 1960. An introduced population derived from escaped cagebirds in Puerto Rico has since thought to become extinct.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The red siskin is found in open country, forest edges and grassland with trees or shrubs. The female is believed to lay three greenish-white eggs in a grassy cup nest in a tree. Red siskins eat seeds and are highly gregarious. When they were more numerous, they formed semi-nomadic flocks.
保护状况
This siskin has been illegally trapped for the cage bird trade and endangered by environmental factors. Domestication has probably been responsible for the continuation of the species, which might otherwise be extinct. This is an attractive finch with a pleasant song, and its unique coloration for a small finch has led to it being used for interbreeding with domestic canaries to produce varieties with red in the plumage.<p>The red siskin is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List and nationally critically endangered in Venezuela. It is listed on CITES Appendix I. The greatest threat to the species has been intense illegal trapping for the bird trade since the 1940s, however the species also faces extensive habitat loss. Some hope has been given to this highly endangered species by the discovery in 2003 of a population of several thousand birds in southern Guyana, 1000 km from any previously known colony. Otherwise, the world population is believed to be between 600-6,000 pairs.<p>Researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute lead a program, the Red Siskin Initiative, with the goals of uncovering more about this species and preventing its extinction. The National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA has a captive breeding program for the species.
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Black Jacobin
Florisuga fusca
Large and aggressive hummingbird. Mostly black with white flanks. Boldly patterned tail is white with a black center and a thin black terminal band. Both sexes are similar, but juveniles have cinnamon sides to the throat. Found in a variety of habitats including woodlands, forest edges, and plantations, foraging from the understory to the canopy. Also visits feeders and gardens.
Olive-backed Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus triangularis
Medium-sized woodcreeper found in Andean foothills and subtropical zone from Venezuela to Bolivia. Brownish-olive overall with warmer rufous wings and tail. Note heavy buff spotting on head and underparts, and noticeable buffy eyering and eyebrow. Fairly straight bill. Most similar to Spotted Woodcreeper, which is only found on west slope of Andes. Note more extensive crown spotting on Olive-backed. Otherwise distinctive in range. Like other woodcreepers, usually seen singly or in pairs, often accompanying a mixed-species flock. Hitches up tree trunks and large limbs. Typically found within forest or adjacent edges or second growth.
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Merops nubicus
Large and gorgeous bee-eater with a mostly carmine body, and blue-green head and belly. The central tail feathers are elongated. In flight, reveals a blue-green rump, and rosy underwings with black trailing edge. Found in a variety of savanna habitats. Usually in flocks, and breeds colonially in riverbanks. Often perches on the backs of mammals and large birds, catching the insects that they disturb. The call is low-pitched and raspy, less musical than most bee-eaters. Similar to Southern Carmine Bee-eater, but there is virtually no overlap in range, and easily separated by the blue-green rather than carmine throat.
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