Listen to the Eurasian siskin
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Eurasian siskin
The Eurasian siskin is a bird in the family Fringillidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 21 cm and weigh around 14 g.
What does the Eurasian siskin sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The Eurasian siskin (Spinus spinus) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is also called the European siskin, common siskin or just siskin. Other (archaic) names include black-headed goldfinch, barley bird and aberdevine. It is very common throughout Europe and Eurosiberia. It is found in forested areas, both coniferous and mixed woodland where it feeds on seeds of all kinds, especially of alder and conifers.
It can be distinguished from similar finches by its plumage colour. Its upperparts are greyish green and its underparts are grey-streaked white. Its wings are black with a striking yellow wing bar and its tail is black with yellow sides. The male has a predominantly yellow face and breast with a neat black cap. The female and young birds have a greyish-green head and no cap. It is a trusting, sociable and active bird. Its song is a pleasant mix of tweets and trills.
Related birds in the genus Spinus
More from the family Fringillidae
European goldfinch
Carduelis carduelis
Eurasian bullfinch
Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Eurasian chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
Common linnet
Linaria cannabina
Hawfinch
Coccothraustes coccothraustes
European greenfinch
Chloris chloris
Red crossbill
Loxia curvirostra
Brambling
Fringilla montifringilla
Common rosefinch
Carpodacus erythrinus
Frequently asked questions
What does an Eurasian siskin sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the Eurasian siskin on this page, including its call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the Eurasian siskin endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Eurasian siskin as “least concern”.
What family does the Eurasian siskin belong to?
The Eurasian siskin (Spinus spinus) belongs to the family Fringillidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus) (W1CDR0001494 BD4) – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Béruges, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France by Benoît Van Hecke – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q27075864 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Eurasian siskin – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Sławek Staszczuk (photoss [AT] hotmail.co.uk) – CC BY-SA 3.0