# Red siskin > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Red_siskin > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Red_siskin.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_siskin > Source revision: 1347137156 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | name = Red siskin | image = Cucullatamachocolombia.jpg | image_caption = Male | status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Spinus cucullatus'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22720374A132138099 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22720374A132138099.en |access-date=12 November 2021}} | status2 = CITES_A1 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}} | genus = Spinus | species = cucullatus | authority = ([Swainson](/source/William_Swainson), 1820) | synonyms = * ''Carduelis cucullata'' [Swainson](/source/William_Swainson), 1820 * ''Sporagra cucullata'' ([Swainson](/source/William_Swainson), 1820) | range_map = Spinus cucullatus map.svg }} The '''red siskin''' ('''''Spinus cucullatus''''') is a small [endangered](/source/Endangered_species) finch. == Distribution == It is native to tropical [South America](/source/South_America) - in northern [Colombia](/source/Colombia), northern [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela) (where it is called the "cardenalito") and [Guyana](/source/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](/source/Trinidad) is believed to be [extirpated](/source/Local_extinction), with no sightings since 1960. An introduced population derived from escaped cagebirds in [Puerto Rico](/source/Puerto_Rico) has since thought to become extinct. ==Description== The red siskin is about 10 cm long. The [male](/source/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](/source/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. ==Call== The call is a high-pitched chitter and sharp ''chi-tit'' like the [Indian silverbill](/source/Indian_silverbill), and the male's song is a musical [goldfinch-like](/source/European_goldfinch) melody with twitters and trills. ==Behaviour and ecology== 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](/source/nest) in a tree. Red siskins eat seeds and are highly gregarious. When they were more numerous, they formed semi-nomadic flocks. ==Conservation== This [siskin](/source/siskin) has been illegally trapped for the cage bird trade{{cite journal|last1=Sánchez-Mercado|first1=A.|last2=Cardozo-Urdaneta|first2=A.|last3=Moran|first3=L.|last4=Ovalle|first4=L.|last5=Arvelo|first5=M. Á.|last6=Morales-Campos|first6=J.|last7=Coyle|first7=B.|last8=Braun|first8=M. J.|last9=Rodríguez-Clark|first9=K. M.|title=Social network analysis reveals specialized trade in an Endangered songbird|journal=Animal Conservation|year=2019|volume=23|issue=2|pages=132–144|issn=1367-9430|doi=10.1111/acv.12514|doi-access=free}} 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](/source/Domestic_canary) to produce [varieties with red in the plumage](/source/Red_factor_canary). === Conservation status === The red siskin is listed as [endangered](/source/Endangered_species) by the [IUCN Red List](/source/IUCN_Red_List) and nationally critically endangered in Venezuela. It is listed on [CITES Appendix I](/source/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](/source/Guyana), 1000 km from any previously known colony. Otherwise, the world population is believed to be between 600–6,000 pairs. Researchers at the [Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute](/source/Smithsonian_Conservation_Biology_Institute) lead a program, the Red Siskin Initiative, with the goals of uncovering more about this species and preventing its extinction.{{Cite web|last=Red Siskin Initiative|date=|title=Red Siskin|url=https://www.redsiskin.org/|access-date=2021-01-22|website=RSI|language=en-US}} The National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA has a captive breeding program for the species.{{Cite web|title=Grasslands|url=https://www.aviary.org/birds-habitats/habitats/grasslands/|access-date=2021-01-22|website=National Aviary|language=en-US}} ==References== {{Reflist}} *''Birds of Venezuela'' by Hilty, {{ISBN|0-7136-6418-5}} *{{cite book | last = {{notatypo|ffrench}} | first = Richard | title = A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago | edition = 2nd | year = 1991 | publisher = Comstock Publishing | isbn = 0-8014-9792-2 }} *''Finches and sparrows'' by Clement, Harris and Davis, {{ISBN|0-7136-8017-2}} ==External links== {{Wikispecies|Spinus cucullatus}} *[http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=8818&m=0 Birdlife International fact page] {{Taxonbar|from=Q27075875}} Category:Spinus (bird) Category:Birds of the Serranía del Perijá Category:Fauna of Guyana Category:Birds of Trinidad and Tobago Category:Birds of the Venezuelan Andes Category:Birds described in 1820 Category:Taxa named by William Swainson Category:Species that are or were threatened by the pet trade --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Red siskin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_siskin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_siskin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.