Citril finch

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Citril finch
File:Carduelis citrinella -Plateau de Beille, Ariege, Midi-Pyrenee, France-8 (2).jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Passeriformes
Family:
Fringillidae
Subfamily:
Carduelinae
Genus:
Carduelis
Species:
C. citrinella
Binomial name
Carduelis citrinella
(Pallas, 1764)
Synonyms

Serinus citrinella
Fringilla citrinella

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The citril finch (Carduelis citrinella), also known as the Alpine citril finch, is a small songbird, a member of the true finch family Fringillidae. For a long time, this cardueline finch was placed in the genus Serinus, but it is apparently very closely related to the European goldfinch (C. carduelis).[2]

This bird is a resident breeder in the mountains of southwestern Europe from Spain to the Alps. Its northernmost breeding area is found in the Black Forest of southwestern Germany. Individuals recorded further north are probably escaped from captivity, as most such records are from some time ago. For example, Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden specimen 582 is a first-year male shot supposedly in Saxony earlier than 1849; that museum's specimen 21956 was the skull of another citril finch presumably taken in Saxony 1915, but it was destroyed in World War II.[3]

Taxonomy

The citril finch was described by the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 under the binomial name Fringilla citrinella.[4][5] Citrinella is the Italian word for a small yellow bird. It is a diminutive of the Latin citrinus meaning citrine or light greenish-yellow.[6] The Corsican finch (Carduelis corsicana) was at one time considered as a subspecies of the citril finch but is now treated a separate species.[7] Molecular genetic studies have shown that the citril finch is closely related to the European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis).[8]

Description and systematics

The citril finch has an overall length of 12 cm (4.7 in) and weighs around 12.5 g (0.44 oz). It is greyish above, with a brown tinge to the back which also has black streaks. The underparts and the double wing bars are yellow. It shares with its relatives a bright face mask which in this species is also yellow.

Sexes are similar, although young females may be duller below, and juvenile birds – unlike in European Serinus species – are brown, lacking any yellow or green in the plumage.

The song is a silvery twittering resembling that of the European goldfinch (C. carduelis) and that of the European serin (Serinus serinus). The main call is a tee-ee quite similar to the Eurasian siskin (C. spinus).

Ecology

File:Carduelis citrinella MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.221 Fort de Tournoux.jpg
Carduelis citrinella MHNT

The citril finch differs from the Corsican finch C. corsicana in habitat selection. While the mainland citril finch is rather restricted to subalpine coniferous forests and alpine meadows, the insular Corsican finch may be found in different habitats from sea level to the highest mountain slopes. The citril finch nests mainly in conifers such as pines (Pinus) and spruces (Picea) while the Corsican finch uses also lower bushes such as Tree Heath (Erica arborea), juniper (Juniperus) and bramble (Rubus).[9]

Ranging more widely than its equally common eastern relative, the citril finch is classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN.[1][10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Arnaiz-Villena A; Álvarez-Tejado M; Ruiz-del-Valle V; García-de-la-Torre C; Varela P; Recio MJ; Ferre S & Martínez-Laso J. (1998-99): Phylogeny and rapid Northern and Southern Hemisphere speciation of goldfinches during the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 54: 1031–1041 PDF fulltext
  3. ↑ Förschler & Kalko (2006b), Töpfer (2007)
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Förschler & Kalko (2006a), Förschler et al. (2006a,b)
  10. ↑ BLI (2008)

Sources

  • Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan & Davis, John (1993): Finches and Sparrows: an identification guide. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-8017-2
  • Förschler, Marc Imanuel & Kalko, Elisabeth K.V. (2006a): Breeding ecology and nest site selection in allopatric mainland Citril Finches Carduelis [citrinella] citrinella and insular Corsican Finches Carduelis [citrinella] corsicanus. Journal of Ornithology 147(4): 553-564. doi:10.1007/s10336-006-0079-z (HTML abstract, first page image)
  • Förschler, Marc Imanuel & Kalko, Elisabeth K.V. (2006b): Age-specific reproductive performance in Citril Finches Carduelis [citrinella]. Ardea 94(2): 275-279. HTML abstract
  • Pasquet, E. & Thibault, J.-C. (1997): Genetic differences among mainland and insular forms of the Citril Finch Serinus citrinella. Ibis 139(4): 679–684. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1997.tb04691.x (HTML abstract)
  • Sangster, George (2000): Genetic distance as a test of species boundaries in the Citril Finch Serinus citrinella: a critique and taxonomic reinterpretation. Ibis 142(3): 487–490. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2000.tb04447.x
  • Sangster, George; Knox, Alan G.; Helbig, Andreas J. & Parkin, David T. (2002): Taxonomic recommendations for European birds. Ibis 144(1): 153–159. doi:10.1046/j.0019-1019.2001.00026.x
  • Töpfer, Till (2007): Nachweise seltener Vogeltaxa (Aves) in Sachsen aus der ornithologischen Sammlung des Museums für Tierkunde Dresden [Records of rare bird taxa (Aves) in Saxony from the ornithological collection of the Zoological Museum Dresden]. Faunistische Abhandlungen 26(3): 63-101 [German with English abstract]. PDF fulltext

Further reading

  • Arnaiz-Villena A; Álvarez-Tejado M; Ruiz-del-Valle V; García-de-la-Torre C; Varela P; Recio MJ; Ferre S & Martínez-Laso J. (1998-99): Phylogeny and rapid Northern and Southern Hemisphere speciation of goldfinches during the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 54: 1031–1041 [1]
  • Arnaiz-Villena A, Alvarez-Tejado M, Ruiz-del-Valle V, Garcia-de-la-Torre C, Varela P, Recio MJ, Ferre S, Martinez-Laso J. (1999): Rapid radiation of canaries (Genus Serinus). [2]
  • Cramp, S. & Perrins, C.M. (eds.) (1994): The Birds of the Western Palearctic (Vol. 8). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  • Förschler, Marc Imanuel & Kalko, Elisabeth K.V. (2007): Geographical differentiation, acoustic adaptation and species boundaries in mainland citril finches and insular Corsican finches, superspecies Carduelis [citrinella]. J. Biogeogr. 34(9). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01722.x (HTML abstract)
  • Förschler, Marc Imanuel; Senar, J.C.; Perret, P. & Björklund, M. (2009): The species status of the Corsican Finch Carduelis corsicana assessed by three genetic markers with different rates of evolution. Mol. Phyl. Evol. 52:234-240. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.02.014 (HTML abstract)
  • Förschler, Marc Imanuel; Borras, A.; Kalko, Elisabeth K.V.; Cabrera, J.; Cabrera, T. & Senar, J.C. (2006a): Inter-locality variation in breeding phenology and nesting habitat of the Citril Finch Carduelis citrinella in the Catalonian Pre-Pyrenees. Ardeola 53(1): 115-126. PDF fulltext
  • Förschler, Marc Imanuel; Förschler, L. & Dorka, U. (2006b): Flowering intensity of spruces Picea abies and the population dynamics of Siskins Carduelis spinus, Common Crossbills Loxia curvirostra, and Citril Finches Carduelis citrinella. Ornis Fennica 83(2): 91-96. PDF fulltext
  • van den Elzen, Renate & Khoury, Fares (1999): Systematik, phylogenetische Analyse und Biogeographie der Großgattung Serinus Koch, 1816 (Aves, Carduelidae) ["Systematics, phylogenetic analysis and biogeography of the supergenus Serinus"]. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 215: 55–65. [German[verification needed]]

External links

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