Thick-billed Siskin (Spinus crassirostris)

Identification & Behavior: ~14.4 cm (5.6 in). The male Thick-billed Siskin has a black head and olive upperparts streaked and mottled with dusky. The yellow breast and belly are bordered by gray. The female is mostly gray-olive with a darker gray head or concolor with the back. The wing is dusky with a broad yellow band along the middle. The bill is heavy with silver on the base. In both sexes, the black/gray head is bordered on the sides and nape by pale or yellowish. It is often associated with Polylepis woodlands and scrub that surrounds Polylepis stands. The Thick-billed Siskin is similar to the common Hooded Siskin but is distinguished by being larger, an overall duller plumage, a heavier bill, by being associated to Polylepis woodlands at higher elevations, and by yellow breast bordered by gray in adult males.

Status: The Thick-billed Siskin is generally rare at elevations ranging between 3600-4600 m where is usually associated with Polylepis woodlands and surrounding scrub. It also occurs in Bo and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Jilguero de Pico Grueso.

Sub-species: Thick-billed Siskin (Spinus crassirostris amadoni) (George), 1964.

Meaning of Name: Spinus: Gr. Spinos= unidentified bird mentioned in ancient Greek writing, usually treated as a type of finch. crassirostris: L. crassus=  thick, heavy and rostris, rostrum= billed, beak.

Formerly known as Sporagra crassirostris (2018).

See more of the Family Fringillidae