Eurasian Siskin

Open encyclopedia reference

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. These birds exhibit an unusual migration pattern, migrating southwards in large numbers every few years in winter.

Wikipedia contributors, Eurasian siskin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:45:00.564652+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Spinus spinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Name authority

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common name

Eurasian Siskin

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Fringillidae

Genus

Spinus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPasseriformes
10. familyFringillidae Leach, 1820
11. genusSpinus Koch, 1816
12. speciesSpinus spinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Spinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 174 records assigned to Fringillidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=997858 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4Z65Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.