Siskin
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Siskin ( Spinus spinus ), male |
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| Spinus spinus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Erlenzeisig ( spinus spinus , Syn. : Carduelis spinus ) is a bird art from the subfamily of the Stieglitz-like (Carduelinae). Birds of this kind are sometimes simply called siskin , because in German-speaking countries they are the most common and best-known representatives of the group of small finch birds that have the part of their name “-zeisig”.
description
Siskins are relatively small finches at 12 centimeters, their wingspan is 20 to 23 centimeters. They weigh 12 to 15 grams. The male is colored black, yellow and green, with a black forehead and black chin, otherwise a yellow head with green cheeks. The back is gray-green, the wings black with a yellow band. The females are inconspicuous gray-green and dashed, with a light gray belly. However, their wings also have yellow and green areas. The the male chirps, grinds and scrapes in a hurry, it is carried forward from tree tops or in flight.
distribution and habitat
Siskins occur all over Europe with the exception of Iceland and the northern edge of Scandinavia . They also live in North and East Asia as well as the Near and Middle East . The siskin is not endangered in its population. In Central , Southern and Western Europe they are annual birds .
They breed primarily in spruce , which is why they are mainly found in coniferous and mixed forests during the breeding season . In winter, they migrate in large swarms over long distances through the open landscape and feed on seeds and buds . Most of the animals tend to move to southern Europe .
nutrition
Siskins are so named because they prefer to feed on alder and birch seeds. But other seeds , most often from trees, as well as nuts and sometimes insects are eaten.
Reproduction
The siskin prefers to breed high up in spruce trees, the nests are made of grass and moss . Three to five eggs are hatched for 13 days, the nestlings are fed aphids and caterpillars until they fledge at around 13 days .
Systematics
Although the Siskin has a very large range, the species is monotypical, i. H. no subspecies are distinguished. For a long time the species was classified in the genus Carduelis . However, based on phylogenetic studies from 2012, this taxon was divided into a larger number of genera. Since then the siskin has been included in the genus Spinus along with a number of American siskins .
literature
- Lars Svensson , Peter J. Grant, Killian Mullarney, Dan Zetterström: The new cosmos bird guide . Kosmos, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07720-9 .
- Lars Jonsson : The birds of Europe and the Mediterranean - Kosmos-Naturführer , Franckh-Kosmos Stuttgart 1992/1999, ISBN 3-440-06357-7
- Paul Sterry (Editor): The Encyclopedia of European Birds. Tosa, Vienna, 2003. ISBN 3-85492-813-0
Web links
- Spinus spinus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017.3. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Spinus spinus in the Internet Bird Collection
- Entry at the Swiss Ornithological Institute
- Age and gender characteristics (PDF; 2.4 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta and Gerd-Michael Heinze
- Feathers of the Siskin
- "Der Erlenzeisig" map of Germany from ZEITmagazin, March 15, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ D. Zuccon, R. Prŷs-Jones, P. Rasmussen and P. Ericson: The phylogenetic relationships and generis Limits of finches (Fringillidae) . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 62 , no. 2 , February 2012, p. 581-596 , doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2011.10.002 ( nrm.se [PDF]).