Citril Finch

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Citril Finch
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Carduelis
Species: C. citrinella
Binomial name
Carduelis citrinella
(Pallas, 1764)
Synonyms

Serinus citrinella

The Citril Finch (Carduelis citrinella) is a small songbird and member of the finch family. For a long time, it was placed in the genus Serinus, but it is apparently more closely related to the European Goldfinch (Arnaiz-Villena et al., 1998, contra van den Elzen & Khoury, 1999).

This bird is a resident breeder in the mountains of southwestern Europe from Spain to the Alps. Its northernmost breeding area is found in the Black Forest (Förschler & Kalko 2006)

The 12 cm long Citril Finch is greyish above, with a brown tinge to the back, which also has black streaks. The underparts and the double wing bars are yellow. It shares with its relatives a bright face mask which is also yellow in this species.

Sexes are similar, although young females may be greyish below, and juvenile birds, unlike in European Serinus species, are brown, lacking any yellow or green in the plumage.

The song is a silvery twittering resembling that of the Goldfinch and the Serin. The main call is a tee-ee quite similar to the Siskin.

The Corsican Finch was formerly regarded a subspecies of the Citril Finch, but it differs in morphology and vocalization (Cramp & Perrins, 1994, Förschler & Kalko 2007) as well as mtDNA sequence (Sangster, 2000, contra Pasquet & Thibault, 1997) and they are now considered distinct species (Sangster et al., 2002).

The two forms differ in their habitat selection. While the mainland Citril Finch is rather restricted to high level mountain coniferous forests and alpine meadows (Förschler & Kalko 2006, Förschler et al. 2006), the insular Corsican Finch may be found in different habitats from sea level to the highest mountain slopes (Förschler & Kalko 2006). The Citril Finch nests mainly in conifers such as Pines and Spruces while the Corsican Finch as well in lower bushes such as Tree Heath, Juniper and Bramble (Förschler & Kalko 2006).

[edit] References

  • Arnaiz-Villena, A.; Álvarez-Tejado, M.; Ruiz-del-Valle, V.; García-de-la-Torre, C.; Varela, P.; Recio, M. J.; Ferre. S. & Martínez-Laso, J. (1998): Phylogeny and rapid Northern and Southern Hemisphere speciation of goldfinches during the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 54: 1031–1041. doi:10.1007/s000180050230 (article, PDF fulltext) doi:10.1007/s000180050280 (erratum, PDF fulltext)
  • Cramp, S. & Perrins, C. M. (eds) (1994): The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 8. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Förschler, M.I.; Borras A.; Cabrera J.; Cabrera T. & Senar J.C. (2005): Inter-locality variation in reproductive success of the citril finch Serinus citrinella. Journal of Ornithology 146: 137-140. doi:10.1007/s10336-005-0072-y
  • Förschler, M.I. & Kalko, E.K.V. (2006): Macrogeographic variations in food choice of mainland citril finches Carduelis [citrinella] citrinella and insular Corsican (citril) finches Carduelis [citrinella] corsicanus. Journal of Ornithology 147: 441-447. doi:10.1007/s10336-005-0032-6
  • Förschler, M. I. & Kalko, E.K.V. (2006): Breeding ecology and nest site selection in allopatric mainland Citril Finches Carduelis[citrinella] citrinella and insular Corsican Finches Carduelis[citrinella] corsicanus. Journal of Ornithology 147: 553-564. doi:10.1007/s10336-006-0079-z
  • Förschler, M.I.; Borras A.; Kalko, E.K.V.; Cabrera J; Cabrera T & Senar J.C. (2006): Inter-locality variation in breeding phenology and nesting habitat of the Citril Finch Carduelis citrinella in the Catalonian Pre-Pyrenees. Ardeola 53(1): 115-126. http://www.ardeola.org/article?id=1269
  • Förschler, M.I.; Förschler, L. & Dorka, U. (2006): Flowering intensity of spruces Picea abies and the population dynamics of Siskins Carduelis spinus, Common Crossbills Loxia curvirostra, and Citril Finches Carduelis citrinella. Ornis Fennica 83: 91-96. PDF fulltext
  • Förschler, M.I. (2007) Microgeographic variation in Citril Finch Carduelis citrinella abundance as a consequence of resource availability. European Journal of Wildlife Research 53: 29-34. doi:10.1007/s10344-006-0059-x
  • Förschler, M.I. (2007) Seasonal variation in the diet of citril finches Carduelis citrinella: are they specialists or generalists? European Journal of Wildlife Research 53. doi:10.1007/s10344-006-0082-y
  • Förschler, M.I. & Kalko, E.K.V. (2007): Geographical differentiation, acoustic adaptation and species boundaries in mainland citril finches and insular Corsican finches, superspecies Carduelis [citrinella]. Journal of Biogeography 34. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01722.x
  • Pasquet, E. & Thibault, J.-C. (1997): Genetic differences among mainland and insular forms of the Citril Finch Serinus citrinella. Ibis 139(4): 679–684.
  • Sangster, G. (2000): Genetic distance as a test of species boundaries in the Citril Finch Serinus citrinella: a critique and taxonomic reinterpretation. Ibis 142(3): 487–490.
  • van den Elzen, R. & Khoury, F. (1999): Systematik, phylogenetische Analyse und Biogeographie der Großgattung Serinus Koch, 1816 (Aves, Carduelidae). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 215: 55–65. [Article in German]

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