Pine Siskin
Spinus pinus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyFringillidae (Finches, Euphonias, and Allies)
- GenusSpinus (Siskins and New World Goldfinches)
- SpeciesSpinus pinus (Pine Siskin)
About the Pine Siskin
The pine siskin (Spinus pinus) is a North American bird in the finch family. It is a migratory bird with an extremely sporadic winter range. The pine siskin is currently listed as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
The pine siskin was formally described in 1810 by the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson under the binomial name Fringilla pinus. The specific epithet pinus is the Latin word for a "pine-tree". The type locality is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The pine siskin is now placed in the genus Spinus that was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch in 1816.
Three subspecies are recognised: S. p. pinus (Wilson, A, 1810) – Alaska, Canada and west, northeast USA S. p. macropterus (Bonaparte, 1850) – northwest and central Mexico S. p. perplexus Van Rossem, 1938 – south Mexico to Guatemala These birds are fairly small, being around the same size as the widespread American goldfinch. In both sexes, total length can range from 11–14 cm (4.3–5.5 in), with a wingspan of 18–22 cm (7.1–8.7 in) and a weight of 12–18 g (0.42–0.63 oz).
Adults are brown on the upperparts and pale on the underparts, with heavy streaking throughout... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park
Lesser Goldfinch
Spinus psaltria
Lawrence's Goldfinch
Spinus lawrencei
American Goldfinch
Spinus tristis
House Finch
Haemorhous mexicanus
Cassin's Finch
Haemorhous cassinii
Red Crossbill
Loxia curvirostra
Evening Grosbeak
Hesperiphona vespertina
Verdin
Auriparus flaviceps
Abert's Towhee
Melozone aberti
Vermilion Flycatcher
Pyrocephalus rubinus
Curve-billed Thrasher
Toxostoma curvirostre
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Setophaga coronata
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Pine Siskin in Saguaro National Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pine Siskin sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 1,192 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Pine Siskin in Saguaro National Park?
February has the highest sighting rate for Pine Siskin in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.