Yellow-bellied Siskin (Spinus xanthogastra)

Identification & Behavior: ~11 cm (4.3 in). The male Yellow-bellied Siskin is black with yellow upperparts. The base of the tail feathers is yellow (nearly half) with a black central pair of feathers. The female is olive. In both sexes, the wing is black with a broad yellow band along the middle. The bill is conical and pointy. It favors open habitats and also agricultural fields. The Yellow-bellied Siskin is similar to the Lesser Goldfinch but is distinguished by having a black throat and upper breast and a broad yellow band along the wing.

Status: The Yellow-bellied Siskin rare and local at the edges of humid montane forest in extreme southeast Peru at approximately 2000 m. It has also been reported at the edges of humid forest in extreme northwest Peru, in Tumbes. The Yellow-bellied Siskin also occurs in Co, Ec, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Jilguero de Vientre Amarillo.

Sub-species: Yellow-bellied Siskin (Spinus xanthogastra xanthogastra), Du Bus de Gisignies, 1855. W Colombia, NW & SW Ecuador, and extreme NW Peru.
(Spinus xanthogastra stejnegeri), Sharpe, 1888. Extreme SE Peru (E Puno) and W Bolivia.

Meaning of Name: Spinus: Gr. Spinos= unidentified bird mentioned in ancient Greek writing, usually treated as a type of finch. xanthogastra: Gr. Xanthos= yellow and gastēr, gastros= belly.

Formerly known as Sporagra xanthogastra (2018).

See more of the Family Fringillidae