Pine Siskins

Male Pine Siskin

Flocks of Pine Siskins may monopolize the Nyjer feeder one winter and not be seen for another year. These nomadic finches range widely and erratically across North America depending on seed crops. These birds are more adept at clinging to the end of a branch than feeding on the ground.

Pine Siskins are small songbirds with sharp, pointed bills and short, notched tails. They are brown and very streaked with subtle yellow edgings on their wings and tails. Flashes of yellow can be seen as they take flight, flutter on branch tips or display during mating. They are often difficult to distinguish from the more familiar female House Finch. House Finches have a thicker, more conical bill.

The bill of a female Pine Siskin

In the winter, Pine Siskins are often seen at feeders, especially Nyjer feeders. Another differentiating clue to telling a siskin from other finches is that Pine Siskins are a gregarious group foraging in tight flocks and twittering or calling each other even during flight.

Pine Siskins nest in open coniferous or mixed forests in Canada and north into southern Alaska. Their nests are highly insulated to protect the eggs from the cold. The female remains on the nest continuously, being fed by the male while brooding.

Siskins make unpredictable migrations into southern and eastern North America. A few years ago, they were in our general area. It was pretty obvious because they were eating a lot of Nyjer seed!

Bill of female House Finch

They get through winter's cold nights by "ramping up" their metabolic rates by as much as 40 percent. They can temporarily store seeds totaling as much as 10 percent of their body mass in the part of the esophagus called the "crop." The energy in that amount of feed could get them through five to six hours of subzero temperatures. They also put on half again as much winter fat as their cousins, the Common Redpoll and the American Goldfinch.

We're not sure what this year may bring, but keep an eye out of these flocks as well as listen for their insistent wheezy twitters.