Black-chinned Siskin

Cabecita Negra de Corbata

Carduelis barbatus

Length: 128mm. Sexes unlike. Male: bill horn colour tinged brownish above and yellowish on mandible; iris dark brown; lores and crown black; auriculars yellowish olive; hind neck and back yellowish olive with black patch; lower back yellowish olive; rump slightly yellower than lower back; uppertail coverts black; tail feathers black with yellow basal bar. Chin black, foreneck, breast and underparts yellow stained olivaceous on sides of breast; flanks are stained greyish. Lesser wing coverts as back; median and greater coverts black with yellowish olive margins; remiges black, tertiaries show olivaceous grey margins, remainder with broad yellow basal bar. Legs black.

Average weight: 17g. Female: lacks black on head and chin, otherwise similar to male but mostly paler and greyish on underparts. Weight and size similar to male. Juvenile males are similar to females. Habitat and behaviour: it inhabits wooded areas in the Andean forests of Patagonia and shrubby steppes, where it is found in flocks, sometimes very large assemblies that split in pairs and small groups during the breeding season. It feeds on seeds picked from plants, where it strikes the most remarkable poses, at times hanging, upside down, etc. It also feeds on the ground, in tight flocks. Excellent singer like all siskins, its song consists of a series of varied melodic notes, often given in unison and even in winter. It nests on tree branches and shrubs, a cup-shaped construction made with straw and lined with horsehair and soft material.

Clutch size: up to five reddish speckled eggs with a white background.

Range: from Neuquén and Río Negro to southern Tierra del Fuego and Islas Malvinas.