Pine Siskin

Description:

Small brown finch with many streaks and a forked tail. They have yellow markings on their wings and tail.

Habitat:

This one was spotted feeding in my front yard in an urban area. It was my first spotting of this bird so I was pretty excited to say the least. Natural habitats include deciduous forests, fields, and thickets.

Notes:

Fun Facts: 1. These birds can store up to 10% of their body mass in their crop. 2. They have a varied diet ranging from seeds, insects, buds, leaves, soft stems, spiders, and mineral deposits! 3. Pine Siskins can survive -94 F temperatures. They have the ability to increase their metabolic rate by 5 times what is normal and can do this for several hours.