Species

Pine siskin

Spinus pinus

A small, streaky finch with yellow wing flashes that arrives in Georgia in big flocks in some winters.

Photo Cephas (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab)

Migration

At a glance

Size: About 11 to 14 cm long
Weight: About 12 to 18 g
Habitat: Conifers and feeders in winter
Diet: Seeds, especially from conifers, birch and thistle
In Georgia: An irregular winter visitor
Voice: A buzzy, rising "zreeee"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Small, brown, heavily streaked finch; thin bill; yellow flashes in the wings and tail
Told apart from: American goldfinch in winter, which is unstreaked
Where to look: Feeders in irruption winters

Behaviour

Pine siskins travel in flocks and irrupt south when northern seed crops fail.

Why they matter

Pine siskins survive extreme cold by increasing their metabolic rate and storing seeds in their throats. Their irruptions into Georgia are unpredictable.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A cup in a conifer
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 13 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Lifespan — A few years

Living around people

Siskins are prone to salmonella outbreaks at crowded feeders; cleaning feeders regularly helps.

Misconceptions

Streaky birds at feeders are all sparrows. Siskins are finches with yellow in the wings.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering in irruption years	Wintering	Wintering	Leaving	Nesting farther north	Nesting	Young fledging	Present in the north	Moving south in some years	Arriving	Wintering	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 76 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.

I found an animal