Thick-billed siskin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thick-billed siskin |
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Sporagra crassirostris |
The thick-billed siskin (Spinus crassirostris) is a small bird that belongs to the finch family. You can find these birds in the high mountains of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. They love living in moist mountain forests and high-altitude areas with shrubs.
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What Does the Thick-Billed Siskin Look Like?
This bird grows to be about 13.5 to 14 centimetres (5.3 to 5.5 in) long. One special thing about this siskin is its thick bill, which often has a shiny, silvery base. This bill is much thicker than those of other siskins.
Male and Female Differences
The male thick-billed siskin looks a lot like another bird called the hooded siskin. Male thick-billed siskins have a black head and throat. Their upper parts are greenish-yellow, sometimes with dark streaks. Their underparts are bright yellow.
However, you can tell them apart because the thick-billed siskin has a whitish-grey area in the middle of its belly. Young males also have a black head, but their colors are not as bright. They are more greyish-olive on top and greyish underneath.
Female thick-billed siskins look quite different from the males. They do not have a black head. They are generally duller in color, appearing more greyish-olive. Their underparts are also much paler than the males'.
Where Do Thick-Billed Siskins Live?
These birds live high up in the Andes mountains. Their home stretches from western Peru and central Chile all the way to northwestern Argentina.
Mountain Homes
In the northern parts of their range, you can find them at very high altitudes, usually between 3,000 to 4,000 metres (10,000 to 13,000 ft) above sea level. Further south, they can be found a bit lower, down to about 2,100 metres (7,000 ft).
They typically live in special woodlands with Polylepis trees. They also like open areas that have lots of shrubs.
Is the Thick-Billed Siskin Endangered?
The thick-billed siskin is not a very common bird, and you might find them in different spots across their range. However, they live in a very large area. Their numbers seem to be stable, meaning they are not decreasing quickly.
Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed them as a "least-concern species". This means they are not currently in danger of disappearing.
