Red Siskin Spinus cucullatus Scientific name definitions

Treated as Endangered under IUCN criteria, due in large part to trapping for the cagebird trade, the Red Siskin is known from scattered locations across northern South America between Colombia and Guyana, and at least formerly occurred on Puerto Rico, where an introduced population appears to have declined almost to extinction. The cause of the species’ conservation problems is undoubtedly its attractive plumage. Males are overall red with a black head, bib, tail, and wings, which show a broad red bar across the flight feathers, whilst females are mainly brown, becoming more dusky over the wings and tail, but still easily identified by their red rump, wingbars and primary bases, and grayish underparts with a red wash over the flanks. At present, the largest known population is in a relatively remote part of southern Guyana.

10–11 cm. Small, reddish finch with sharply pointed bill and notched tail. Male has head to side of neck, chin and throat jet-black, hindneck and upperparts deep scarlet with grey or blackish feather bases, lower back and rump paler red or pinkish-red; tail black, base of feathers edged pale vermilion at side (not always visible in field); upperwing-coverts black, tipped deep vermilion, alula, primary coverts and flight-feathers black, brighter vermilion patch at base of outer secondaries and primaries, tertials black, edged pale pinkish and whiter at tips; underparts vermilion , belly and vent whitish, tinged pink; iris black; bill dark greyish-horn or blackish; legs brown or dark brown. Female has head and upperparts (to lower back) grey, forehead to crown and nape streaked darker, face to chin and throat and sides of neck pale grey (sometimes finely spotted red on lower throat), mantle to scapulars lightly streaked darker and tinged reddish-pink on lower back; rump and uppertail-coverts vermilion, tips of longest coverts grey, tail black, finely edged reddish at side of base; wing as for male, but median and greater coverts more broadly black at bases and tips paler orange-red, also band at bases of flight-feathers pale orange-red, tertials have white or whitish-buff tips; breast to upper belly and flanks orange-red, rest of underparts whitish. Juvenile resembles female, but paler or greyer, with reduced amounts of orange-red; first-year male similar to adult, but vermilion replaced by brown, tips of wing-coverts yellowish or buff, flight-feathers black with pale or creamy-yellow bases, underparts brownish.

NE Colombia (Norte de Santander), N & W Venezuela and S Guyana (1 Robbins, M. B., M. J. Braun, and D. W. Finch (2004). Avifauna of the Guyana southern Rupununi, with comparisons of other savannas of northern South America. Ornitología Neotropical 15(2):173–200. Close ); formerly widespread. Introduced to Puerto Rico.

Lowland and foothill dry deciduous woodland and open country, edges of evergreen forest, scrub and grassland with occasional trees; at 200–1500 m, occasionally down to 100 m. In Guyana, inhabitats Trachypogon-Curatella savanna, but not found in large areas of similar habitat in Venezuela, where it is more closely associated with more humid foothills.

Partially migratory or semi-nomadic. Moves considerable distances (up to 50 km) daily to and from breeding and roosting areas to feed; in non-breeding season disperses at random away from breeding areas in search of food. On Monos I, off Trinidad, was sporadic but apparently common at times, perhaps indicating seasonal influxes from mainland, but origin of birds on Trinidad has been questioned, possibly introduced.

Mostly seeds of various grasses, shrubs and trees, also flowerheads, fruit of cacti and figs (Ficus) and berries, including, in Venezuela, Cordia, Trixis, Eupatorium, Wedelia and Urera baccifera, and, in Guyana, flowerbuds and fruit of sandpaper tree (Curatella americana) and fruit of the mistletoe Phoradendron; also nectar; possibly some small insects. Commonly forages on ground and low down in vegetation and bushes; also higher up in trees. Singly and in pairs; following breeding season, forms large flocks.

Song a long series of repeated twitters and trills, lasting up to 2–3 minutes, reminiscent of that of C. carduelis. Calls include high-pitched twitter, high-pitched ringing bell-like "ta-lee" with second note rising, and a distinctive, sharp "chi-tit" or "chut-chut". For calls apparently used mainly in mate contact, single-note call usually given while perched, double-note call normally in flight.

Season mainly May to early Jul, also Nov–Dec. Solitary; loosely colonial in Guyana, with breeding territories densely packed, apparently owing to superabundance of fruiting Curatella and Phoradendron. Prominent aspects of breeding behaviour include mate-guarding, male-male and female-female chasing, display-flights, and stealing of nest material. Nest a deep cup of fibrous bark or grass strips, lined with fine cottonlike fibres; placed high (25 m) up in Tillandsia bromeliad clump or in branch fork in tall forest tree (Venezuela), or in dense terminal leaf cluster 5–7 m high in crown of Curatella tree (Guyana). Eggs 3–5, pale greenish-white. Female alone incubates, fed by male, incubation period 11–13 days; fledging 14–16 days. In captivity: birds pair for single season; female builds nest alone, and feeds chicks with very little help from male; longevity 8–9 years, males remaining fertile up to 8 years, females up to 5 years.

ENDANGERED. CITES I. Extremely rare. In N Venezuela recent observations from only four states; small population probably still extant in N Colombia (Norte de Santander), where sighting in 2000 was the first since 1978; small population discovered in 2000 in SW Guyana, c. 950 km from nearest known locality in Venezuela. In early 20th century considered common and widespread throughout N Venezuela, but has subsequently declined rapidly and severely; no recent sightings from many sites occupied in 1980s. Last seen on Trinidad, where possibly introduced, in 1960. Population in the wild, in Venezuela, estimated in 1981 at c. 600–800 individuals, with c. 350–500 in W and c. 250–300 in C, reportedly extirpated in E; newly discovered population in Guyana thought to be in low hundreds to low thousands of individuals; present global population of this species estimated at between high hundreds and low thousands, although paucity of recent records in both Colombia and Venezuela suggest that true figure is probably closer to lower end of that range. Introduced (through escaped cagebirds) to Puerto Rico in 1920s or 1930s; small numbers persisted, but species was always very rare and, after rapid decline, last seen in 1982; also introduced to Cuba but apparently never became established. Has suffered from a long history of enormous commercial exploitation owing to its popularity as a cagebird, as it hybridizes with domesticated canaries to produce "red-factor" variants or mules; although legally protected since 1940, trapping continued until 1990s. In 1975 at least 3000 birds were recorded in trade, dropping to just over 1000 in 1982. Although bird-trappers are active in area of Guyanese population, they claim that there is no active market for the species. Amount of suitable habitat has been greatly reduced through intensive agriculture, which continues to compound effects of long-term intensive trapping. Furthermore, captive-breeding programmes are hampered by problems of disease and hybrid stock; captive-breeding project exists in USA and Canada, but planned (re)introduction project on Trinidad was suspended because of disease in the birds. Legally protected in Venezuela, where said to have occurred in Guatopo and Terepaima National Parks, but there have been no records for many years from these localities. Recent (post-2000) records come from several sites in NW and C of country and pertain to a small number of birds; exact localities remain secret. Less than 1000 km² of key habitat in Venezuela remains, distributed in small blocks (2 Sánchez‐Mercado, A., Rodríguez‐Clark, K.M., Miranda, J., Ferrer‐Paris, J.R., Coyle, B., Toro, S., Cardozo‐Urdaneta, A. and Braun, M.J. (2018). How to deal with ground truthing affected by human‐induced habitat change?: Identifying high‐quality habitats for the Critically Endangered Red Siskin. Ecology & Evolution. 8(2): 841–851. Close ), 279 km² of which falls within strict protected areas: San Esteban (IUCN Cat. II; 435 km²), Henri Pittier (IUCN Cat. II; 1078 km²) and Macarao National Parks (IUCN Cat. II; 150 km²), and Pico Codazzi Nature Monument (IUCN Cat. III; 80 km²) (2 Sánchez‐Mercado, A., Rodríguez‐Clark, K.M., Miranda, J., Ferrer‐Paris, J.R., Coyle, B., Toro, S., Cardozo‐Urdaneta, A. and Braun, M.J. (2018). How to deal with ground truthing affected by human‐induced habitat change?: Identifying high‐quality habitats for the Critically Endangered Red Siskin. Ecology & Evolution. 8(2): 841–851. Close ). A decline in Area of Occupancy of the Venezuelan range of 40–95% is calculated to have occurred between 2000 and 2015 (2 Sánchez‐Mercado, A., Rodríguez‐Clark, K.M., Miranda, J., Ferrer‐Paris, J.R., Coyle, B., Toro, S., Cardozo‐Urdaneta, A. and Braun, M.J. (2018). How to deal with ground truthing affected by human‐induced habitat change?: Identifying high‐quality habitats for the Critically Endangered Red Siskin. Ecology & Evolution. 8(2): 841–851. Close ). In Venezuela, considered Critically Endangered at the national level (3 Sharpe, C. J. (2008). Aves. In Libro Rojo de la Fauna Venezolana. Terca edición (J. P. Rodríguez and F. Rojas-Suárez, Editors). Provita and Shell Venezuela, S. A., Caracas, Venezuela. pp. 122–157. Close , 4 Rodríguez-Clark, K.M., Sharpe, C.J., Rojas-Suárez, F., Miranda, J., Ascanio, D., Lentino, M. and Braun, M.J. (2015). Cardenalito, Sporagra cucullata. In:. Close ) and one of top four bird conservation priorities (5 Rodríguez, J. P., F. Rojas-Suárez, and C. J. Sharpe, C.J. (2004). Setting priorities for the conservation of Venezuela's threatened birds. Oryx 38(4):373–382. Close ). Recently declared legally protected in Guyana, where the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), in partnership with local communities, is conducting research on the species; a large part of its known Guyanese range is on a cattle ranch, where managers are well disposed towards conservation. Proposed conservation measures include surveys to ascertain the species' present range and status, international co-ordination of captive-breeding efforts with a long-term view to reintroductions in Venezuela (though lack of suitable due to long-term loss and degradation may limit possibilities for reintroduction into E Venezuela (2 Sánchez‐Mercado, A., Rodríguez‐Clark, K.M., Miranda, J., Ferrer‐Paris, J.R., Coyle, B., Toro, S., Cardozo‐Urdaneta, A. and Braun, M.J. (2018). How to deal with ground truthing affected by human‐induced habitat change?: Identifying high‐quality habitats for the Critically Endangered Red Siskin. Ecology & Evolution. 8(2): 841–851. Close ) ), genetic research, and development of a management plan to ensure the protection of the recently discovered Guyanese population.