- Spinus xanthogastrus
Carduelis xanthogastra
Identification
10–11·5 cm
- Black upperparts, head and throat
- Bright yellow belly, tail sides and wing patches
Female
- Dark olive green upperparts
- Light yellow underparts brighter on the belly
- Blackish tail and wings
- Yellow primary wing patches and tail sides
Young birds are similar to the female, but have dusky fringes to the upperpart feathers and smaller yellow wing and tail patches.
Distribution
Central and South America:
Central America: Costa Rica, Panama
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
Taxonomy
Formerly placed in genus Carduelis.
Subspecies
- S. x. xanthogastrus:
- Local in mountains of Costa Rica to Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela
- S. x.s stejnegeri :
Habitat
Humid forests and forest edges and clearings; coffee plantations and shrubby areas at altitudes between 800-3000 m.
Behaviour
Breeding
The nest is a shallow cup of rootlets, bark, and lichen. The clutch consists of 2-3 green-tinged white eggs which are incubated by the female.
Diet
Their main diet consists of seeds, supplemented by small insects.
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved December 2014)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Yellow-bellied Siskin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-bellied_Siskin
