Spinus (bird)

Spinus
American goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Spinus
Koch, 1816
Type species
Fringilla spinus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text

Spinus is a genus of passerine birds in the finch family. It contains the North and South American siskins and goldfinches, as well as two Old World species.

Taxonomy

The genus Spinus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch with the type species by tautonomy as Fringilla spinus Linnaeus, 1758, the Eurasian siskin.[1][2] The genus name is from the Ancient Greek σπίνος spínos, a name for a now-unidentifiable bird.[3]

All of the species in the genus, except for the Tibetan serin, were formerly included in the genus Carduelis. They were moved to the resurrected genus Spinus based on phylogenetic studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.[4][5][6] The Tibetan serin was formerly placed in the genus Serinus. The Eurasian siskin and the Tibetan serin are the only species from the Old World included in the group.[4]

The Tibetan serin is an outgroup within Spinus, having been the first to diverge.[5] The remainder of the genus can be divided into three monophyletic clades: the North American goldfinches (Lawrence's, lesser, and American); the so-called North American siskins (Eurasian, pine, Antillean, and black-capped); and the South American siskins (the remaining 12 species).[7]

The radiation of South American siskins was rapid, and was originally thought to have occurred around 3.5 million years ago due to a range expansion associated with the Great American Interchange and contingent upon the spread of mesothermal plants from the Rocky Mountains to the Andes.[7] More recent work suggests the radiation occurred much later, within the last 1 million years, and speciation events may have been initiated by the climactic variations of the late Pleistocene.[8]

The hooded siskin may be paraphyletic.[8]

Ecology

Spinus finches are gregarious and may breed and forage in small groups.[9] In the non-breeding season, these species generally disperse away from the breeding grounds and small flocks roam nomadically in search of food; these flocks may be of one species or mixed with other species in the genus. Some species, such as the pine siskin and thick-billed siskin, are considered irruptive.[9][10]

Like most other members of Carduelinae, but unusually amongst songbirds, members of Spinus are primarily granivorous, but may occasionally supplement their diet with insects or fruit. Most species eat a variety of small seeds, especially from asters, grasses, alders, and birches.[9]

Conservation

The IUCN lists 17 species as least concern, two as vulnerable (saffron siskin and yellow-faced siskin), and one, the red siskin, as endangered. Species in this clade are threatened by habitat loss and capture for the cage-bird trade.[11]

Species

The genus contains 20 species:[4]

Image Common name Scientific name Distribution
Tibetan serin Spinus thibetanus Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal
American goldfinch Spinus tristis mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter
Lawrence's goldfinch Spinus lawrencei California and Baja California, winters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico
Lesser goldfinch Spinus psaltria the southwestern United States (near the coast, as far north as extreme southwestern Washington) to Venezuela and Peru
Eurasian siskin Spinus spinus Eurasia and North Africa
Antillean siskin Spinus dominicensis Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic)
Pine siskin Spinus pinus Canada, Alaska and, to a more variable degree, across the western mountains and northeastern parts of the United States
Black-capped siskin Spinus atriceps Mexico and Guatemala
Black-headed siskin Spinus notatus Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua
Black-chinned siskin Spinus barbatus Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands
Yellow-bellied siskin Spinus xanthogastrus Costa Rica south to southern Ecuador, central Bolivia and the highlands of northwestern Venezuela
Olivaceous siskin Spinus olivaceus northern Peru to La Paz and Cochabamba in Bolivia and to southeastern Ecuador; has also been observed east of the Andes near Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia
Hooded siskin Spinus magellanicus central Argentina north to central Brazil
Saffron siskin Spinus siemiradzkii Ecuador and Peru
Yellow-faced siskin Spinus yarrellii Brazil and Venezuela
Red siskin Spinus cucullatus northern Colombia and northern Venezuela
Black siskin Spinus atratus Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru
Yellow-rumped siskin Spinus uropygialis Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru
Thick-billed siskin Spinus crassirostris Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru
Andean siskin Spinus spinescens Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spinus.
  1. ^ Koch, Carl Ludwig (1816). System der baierischen Zoologie, Volume 1 (in German). Nürnberg. p. 232.
  2. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 234.
  3. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. p. 362. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ a b c Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Finches, euphonias". World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  5. ^ a b Zuccon, Dario; Prŷs-Jones, Robert; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62 (2): 581–596. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002. PMID 22023825.
  6. ^ Nguembock, B.; Fjeldså, J.; Couloux, A.; Pasquet, E. (2009). "Molecular phylogeny of Carduelinae (Aves, Passeriformes, Fringillidae) proves polyphyletic origin of the genera Serinus and Carduelis and suggests redefined generic limits". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 51 (2): 169–181. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.10.022. PMID 19027082.
  7. ^ a b Arnaiz-Villena, Antonio (2012). "Three Different North American Siskin/Goldfinch Evolutionary Radia-tions (Genus Carduelis): Pine Siskin Green Morphs and European Siskins in America". The Open Ornithology Journal. 5: 73–81. doi:10.2174/1874453201205010073.
  8. ^ a b Beckman, Elizabeth J.; Witt, Christopher C. (2015-06-01). "Phylogeny and biogeography of the New World siskins and goldfinches: Rapid, recent diversification in the Central Andes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 87: 28–45. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.03.005. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 25796324.
  9. ^ a b c Clement, Peter (2010-08-30). Finches and Sparrows. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4081-3530-3.
  10. ^ "Pine Siskin". BirdWeb. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  11. ^ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2021-01-21.