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Red Siskin Carduelis cucullata Cardenalito,
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Male - Photo: R. Cabello (Dallas Zoo)*
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Red Siskin Carduelis cucullata Cardenalito,
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Male - Photo: R. Cabello (Dallas Zoo)*
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IDENTIFICATION: A rare, introduced finch, with dramatic differences between male and female plumages. The male has a black head, throat, tail and wings; with bright red back, undersides and wing patches. In contrast, the female is light gray with a salmon-colored rump, breast and wing patches. Length: 10-11 cm.; weight: 10 g. VOICE: The song is described as a jumble of twitters and trills; the call is described as a "raspy jut-jut." Audio (J. Quantro).* HABITAT: Dry, hilly grasslands with scattered trees and forest edges, in a very limited area of southeastern Puerto Rico. HABITS: Feeds in small flocks on seeds and fleshy fruits, often traveling large distances in a day. In its native habitat the female lays three to five eggs per clutch. Its habits are not well studied in Puerto Rico. STATUS AND CONSERVATION: Many species of finches that are kept as household cagebirds have escaped or been released and have established populations in Puerto Rico. The Red Siskin is bird is a native of northern South America and has been a popular cage bird since the 19th Century. In addition, aviculturists cross the Red Siskin with the Island Canary (Serinus canaria) to breed in red-colored feathers and other traits. The wild population in Puerto Rico is thought to have resulted from escaped or intentionally introduced captive birds.It is endangered and local throughout its range, with at most a thousand birds in the wild in South America and less than 100 in Puerto Rico. In South America the cage bird trade has decimated wild populations. Proposed conservation measures there include protecting the few remaining breeding areas, and ultimately establishing a captive breeding and release program. Successful captive breeding efforts are under way in a number of countries, especially in Germany and the USA. In Puerto Rico, the Red Siskin is protected by regulations on the capture of introduced birds for the cage bird trade. However, illegal trapping may eliminate this species from the island. There are no formal plans for habitat protection in Puerto Rico, but if the population survives on the island, it may offer a genetic reservoir for future efforts to conserve the species in its original range in South America. RANGE: Native to foothills at 300-1,200 m elevation in northeastern Colombia and northern Venezuela; formerly in Trinidad. It may already be extinct in its native Venezuela. In Puerto Rico, Raffaele describes the Red Siskin as having occurred in the past in a triangle between the towns of Guayama, Coamo, and Aibonito; reports of this species in the last 10 years from Aibonito have not been confirmed by Puerto Rican ornithologists. TAXONOMY: PASSERIFORMES; FRINGILLIDAE; Carduelinae. Several other, less colorful Siskin species are found in North and South America, e.g. the Pine Siskin, Carduelis pinus, of North America. |
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Female - Photo: R. Cabello (Dallas Zoo)*
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References BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened birds of the world. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge, UK. Camacho Rodríguez, M., J. Chabert Llompart, and M. López Flores. 1999. Guía para la identificación de las aves exóticas establecidas en Puerto Rico. Depto. de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, San Juan, PR. Collar, N.J., L.P. Gonzaga, N. Krabbe, A. Madronno Nieto, L.G. Naranjo, T.A. Parker III, and D.C Wege. 1992. Threatened birds of the Americas: The ICBP/IUCN red data book, 3rd edition, part 2. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Moreno, Jorge A. 1997. Review of the subspecific status and origin of introduced finches in Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 33(3-4): 233-238. Raffaele, H.A. 1983. The raising of a ghost: Spinus cucullatus in Puerto Rico. Auk 100:737-739. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR. Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton. http://www.wcmc.org.uk/species/data/species_sheets/redsiski.htm Next related species in taxonomic order Previous species in taxonomic order |