Pine Siskin Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Pine Siskins are very small songbirds with sharp, pointed bills and short, notched tails. Their uniquely shaped bill is more slender than that of most finches. In flight, look for their forked tails and pointed wingtips.

  Relative Size

  Slightly smaller than an American Goldfinch

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 4.3-5.5 in (11-14 cm)
    • Weight: 0.4-0.6 oz (12-18 g)
    • Wingspan: 7.1-8.7 in (18-22 cm)

  © Matthew Pendleton / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Pine siskins are brown and very streaky birds with subtle yellow edgings on wings and tails. Flashes of yellow can erupt as they take flight, flutter at branch tips, or display during mating.

• Behavior

  Pine Siskins often visit feeders in winter (particularly for thistle or nyjer seed) or cling to branch tips of pines and other conifers, sometimes hanging upside down to pick at seeds below them. They are gregarious, foraging in tight flocks and twittering incessantly to each other, even during their undulating flight.
• Habitat

  Although Pine Siskins prefer evergreen or mixed evergreen and deciduous forests with open canopies, they are opportunistic and adaptable in their search for seeds. They'll forage in weedy fields, scrubby thickets, or backyards and gardens. And they'll flock around feeders, especially thistle feeders, in woodlands and suburbs