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 ).
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.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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Partial MigrantPartial migration is when within a migratory species or even within a single population, some individuals migrate while others do not.
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starts withThe 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 the 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 (Spinus spinus ).
The citril finch (Carduelis citrinella ) 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 ).
Ranging more widely than its equally common eastern relative, the citril finch is classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN.