
Siskin
(Carduelis spinus)
Siskins are common resident Finches with lemon-yellow plumage, long, narrow curved bills (quite typical among Fringillidae) and forked tails. Their striped appearance is what distinguishes them from similar-looking garden birds, especially the Greenfinch (see below), and they are, in fact, one of the smallest Finches in the UK: weighing in at approximately 15g, they are smaller than Goldfinches, but weigh almost the same. Males can be distinguished from females by their black crowns; young Siskins develop from a plumage of mainly brown colour.

A hybrid Siskin and Redpoll. Siskins are known to crossbreed with a number of species, including canaries.
They are considerably active birds with agile, energetic movements, not dissimilar to Blue tits. Listen for their attractive song and you’ll notice a “tilu”, “tilu” call, which is sweet and harmonious, especially when a flock of Siskins are gathered together in a forest area, their preferred location.
According to the RSPB, Siskins are classified as Green Status, meaning they are not under any threat. Globally, there is a vast Siskin population, and in the UK alone there are around 369,000 breeding pairs.
One interesting behaviour is their sometimes cross-breeding with other birds, specifically canaries – although this has been influenced by humans while the birds have been in captivity. The picture showcased here is from birdinfo.co.uk where you can see for yourselves a number of different “Siskin crosses”.
In the UK, Siskins are resident all year round, although mainly located in Scotland and Wales. Many Siskins appear in the UK from colder Scandinavian countries and spend the winter in predominantly the south east of Britain. Being nomadic in nature, they very rarely keep to the same breeding and feeding locations, preferring instead to relocate or simply move on to the next most convenient location.
What does “Siskin” mean?
Carduelis is a genus attributed to a number of birds in the Finch, or Fringillidae, family; more specifically, Carduelis is the name for a Goldfinch. Here are three garden birds with the Latinate Carduelis.
- Carduelis carduelis: Goldfinch
- Carduelis chloris: Greenfinch
- Carduelis spinus: Siskin
According to Wikipedia, the term Spinus is derived from the Ancient Greek word Spinos, which relates to a now unknown species of bird. As for English, this originates from the German “sisschen” or “zeischen”, which is almost directly translatable to “Siskin”.
The Siskin has also be called a black-headed goldfinch and barley bird, although these terms are increasingly rare in the UK.
Can Siskins be affected by Trichomonosis?
Despite their similarity in appearance to Greenfinches, Siskins are nowhere near as susceptible to Trichonomosis, a deadly disease responsible for the relatively recent reduction in Greenfinch population across the UK. It is still important, though, to follow reasonable hygiene precautions when dealing with feeders in your garden. See our article on Essential Hygiene for feeding birds.
What do Siskins eat?
Siskins eat seeds mainly from conifers, alders and birches, and they are known sometimes to eat insects, but only if they are available. As is the case with many birds in the UK, hard frosts can render insects inaccessible over winter, and therefore birds like Siskins will readily take seeds from a variety of sources, including feeders. Because of their preference for conifer trees, and due to the recent trend of planting conifers around the UK, Siskins have developed a wider range than they would have had prior to this activity.
Interestingly, you will find that Siskins don’t often visit garden spaces, but will do so if food is in short supply in their local habitats. Usually, by feeding other more common garden birds you will have a chance to attract Siskins.
“It is after the new year that Siskins begin to be reported in increasing numbers in gardens,” BTO.
What is the difference between a Greenfinch and a Siskin?
Siskins are sometimes confused with Greenfinches, which is understandable because they do appear much alike. Their bills are almost identical, as is the colour of their plumage, yet Siskins are more streaked than Greenfinches, have sharper forked tails, and their crowns are black (*just males have black crowns, and therefore there’s a greater chance of confusing female Siskins with Greenfinches).

Greenfinch – Carduelis chloris

Siskin – Carduelis spinus
I may have seen Siskins and not recognised them. I thought that they were Gold Finches but then noted their black head. Thank you for the excellent pictures.
Wood Pidgeons and collared doves eat 90% of my bird food – annoyingly!
Siskins are here all year on the edge of the Forest or Bowland. They love Niger seed. They don’t leave the feeders until you are very close which also means the Sparrow Hawk gets a few of them.
The info you give on the different birds is really good . Thank you for including the magpies and carrion crows as well as the smaller garden visitors.
excellent interactive photos as well!
We have a pair of Siskin’s visiting our bird feeder daily. Started this year. Lovely to see. We live on the Fylde coast.
I live 1 mile west of Cardiff on border between urban and rural.
Today saw Mr and Mrs Siskin feasting on Niger seeds.
So so beautiful.
Feel privileged to have them visit
I live about 6 mile out from camarthen. We had a male and female Siskin .on my feeder today .lovely little birds .
We just saw a siskin parent and fledgling both on our sunflower seed feeder – the parents have been visiting for a few weeks now, and it was great to see teh fledling finally, flaping about and very demanding!
Two pairs nesting in my neighbour’s thorn bush here in Bury Lancs outskirts. Very agile flyers, very fond of my hazel nut tree. Never seen before 2020.
We have siskins in our garden in cornwall, for the first time
I live just outside of Bridgend in mid Glamorgan and am very fortunate in that many different birds visit my bird feeders and Siskins started to appear last winter I had a pair visiting every day until all the birds started to breed.
Hope to see them again now winter is on its way .
We live in Dover Kent and yesterday a pair of beautiful siskins appeared. They were feeding on sunflower hearts suspended from a silver birch tree, I do hope they stay. Thank you for the information and photographs.
I have just had a pair of Siskins on my feeder with Sunflower Hearts in, not seen them before in my garden hoping they will become a regular visitor now. I was able to identify them from your photo’s thank you so much
We’ve had a lot of bullfinches, the odd greenfinch and a few goldfinches this last 6 months and today a Siskin! Thanks for the pics for identification.
Was out this morning and encountered what seemed to be a pair of Siskins near Oakham in Rutland never seen Siskins here before
We live in North Devon and noticed the Siskin visiting our busy bird garden last Wednesday 5th May. What a delight. We have such a variety of lovely birds to watch and the Siskin is a new and welcome visitor.
Saw my first (as far as I’m aware) Siskin on the birdbath this morning in South Suffolk. Lovely little thing.
We were ‘found’ by siskins two months ago – and now I have a siskin problem! Last count was at least 22 with their young. They have taken over the feeders, not even allowing the lesser redpolls to get into feed often. Help!
i have only started feeding birds this year- and then i have had pairs of Siskins ( verified by my friend a bird spotter) on the feeders i provide, up to 20! very day, i have written them down in my book- then on March 18th, they just didn’t come back. i photographed them n numerous occasions they’re on my facebook page not good ones but you can see they are Siskins. where have they all gone? its the 21st of March today. no siskins i am sad. please can anyone suggest a reason?
We live in the North West Highlands and our Siskins have just returned – they leave for the winter months to who knows where! We have quite a flock of them feasting on sunflower hearts.
Siskins in my experience are extremely susceptible to trichomonosis. I lost count after 30 one year. I suspected their propensity to ‘chew’ the sunflower hearts rather than swallow them whole, made the leftovers infectious. I also lost goldfinches and chaffinches despite cleaning the feeders often overnight. When I cut out the sunflower hearts there were less deaths. It was difficult to stop feeding last year with long sustained frosts making food very scarce. I am hoping the virus has burned itself out this year.