Citril Finch

Citril Finch
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Fringillidae
Subfamily:	Carduelinae
Genus:	Carduelis
Subgenus:	(Carduelis)
Species:	C. citrinella
Binomial name
Carduelis citrinella (Pallas, 1764)[1]
Synonyms
Serinus citrinella Fringilla citrinella

Male Corsican Finch (Carduelis citrinella corsicana), a subspecies (or sister species) of citril finch.

The Citril Finch (Carduelis citrinella) 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]

Description and systematics

12 cm (not quite 5 in) long, the Citril Finch 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).

The Corsican Finch (C. corsicana) is regarded as a subspecies of the Citril Finch,^[4] but it differs in morphology and vocalizations as well as mtDNA sequence, so it is also considered a distinct species by some authors.^[5]

Ecology

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).^[6]

Ranging more widely than its equally common eastern relative, the Citril Finch is classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN.^[7]

Footnotes

1. ^ Clement, Harris & Davis (1993)
2. ^ Arnaiz-Villena et al. (1998-99), van den Elzen & Khoury (1999)
3. ^ Förschler & Kalko (2006b), Töpfer (2007)
4. ^ 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 doi:10.1007/s000180050230 PMID 9791543 PDF fulltext
5. ^ Pasquet & Thibault (1997), Sangster (2000), Sangster et al. (2002), Förschler & Kalko (2007), Förschler et al. (2009)
6. ^ Förschler & Kalko (2006a), Förschler et al. (2006a,b)
7. ^ BLI (2008)

References

• Zamora J, Moscoso J, Ruiz-del-Valle V, Ernesto L, Serrano-Vela JI, Ira-Cachafeiro J, Arnaiz-Villena A (2006). Conjoint mitochondrial phylogenetic trees for canaries Serinus spp. and goldfinches Carduelis spp. show several specific polytomies. Ardeola 53(1): 1-17.
• 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). Mol Biol Evol 16:2-11
• BirdLife International (2008). Carduelis citrinella. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 May 2009.
• Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan & Davis, John (1993): Finches and Sparrows: an identification guide. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-8017-2
• 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. (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
• 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
• 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
• 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]}]

Further reading

• Dickinson EC, Pearson D, Remsen V, Roselaar K, Schodde R (2003): The Howard and Moore complete check list of the birds of the world. Dickinson EC, London.
• Förschler, Marc Imanuel (2006): Absence of insular density inflation in Corsican Finches Carduelis [citrinella] corsicanus. Acta Ornithologica 41(2): 171-175. http://www.miiz.waw.pl/periodicals/acta-ornithologica/abstracts/ao_41_2.pdf
• Förschler, Marc Imanuel (2007) Microgeographic variation in Citril Finch Carduelis citrinella abundance as a consequence of resource availability. European Journal of Wildlife Research 53: 29-34. doi:10.1007/s10344-006-0059-x
• Förschler, Marc Imanuel (2007) Seasonal variation in the diet of citril finches Carduelis citrinella: are they specialists or generalists? European Journal of Wildlife Research 53. doi:10.1007/s10344-006-0082-y
• Förschler, Marc Imanuel & Kalko, Elisabeth K.V. (2006): Macrogeographic variations in food choice of mainland citril finches Carduelis [citrinella] citrinella versus insular Corsican (citril) finches Carduelis [citrinella] corsicanus. Journal of Ornithology 147(3): 441-447. doi:10.1007/s10336-005-0032-6 (HTML abstract, first page image)
• Förschler, Marc Imanuel; Borras, A.; Cabrera, J.; Cabrera, T. & Senar, J.C. (2005): Inter-locality variation in reproductive success of the citril finch Serinus citrinella. Journal of Ornithology 146: 137-140. doi:10.1007/s10336-005-0072-y

External links

• Oiseaux Photos
• Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta