European Serin

European Serin

Serinus serinus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Jerusalem

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

75 Verified sightings at Jerusalem
9,754 In all 25 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the European Serin

The European serin, or simply the serin (Serinus serinus), is the smallest species of the family of finches (Fringillidae) and is closely related to the Atlantic canary. Its diet consists mainly of a combination of buds and seeds.

The European serin was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the 12th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla serinus. The Latin serinus comes from the French word serin for a canary. The French word may be a corruption of the Latin word citrinus meaning "lemon-coloured".

The European serin is a small short-tailed bird, 11–12 cm in length. The upper parts are dark-streaked greyish green, with a yellow rump. The yellow breast and white belly are also heavily streaked. The male has a brighter yellow face and breast, yellow wing bars and yellow tail sides. The song of this bird is a buzzing trill, very familiar in Mediterranean countries.

It breeds across southern and central Europe and North Africa. Southern and Atlantic coast populations are largely resident, but the northern breeders migrate further south in Europe for the winter. Open woodland and cultivation, often with some conifers, is favoured... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:38

Spain · 2024

© Jacobo Ramil Millarengo · XC897458 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:45

Poland · 2023

© Romuald Mikusek · XC812474 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:18

Spain · 2020

© Sean Ronayne · XC524575 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~60%
2 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~50%
3 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
4 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
5 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~40%
6 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
7 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
8 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
9 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
10 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
11 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
12 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~20%
13 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~20%
14 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
15 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
~20%
16 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~20%
17 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
18 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
19 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~10%
20 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
21 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
<5%
22 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
23 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
<5%
24 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
<5%
25 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain
~60%
2 Valencia 🇪🇸 Spain
~60%
3 Lisbon 🇵🇹 Portugal
~60%
4 Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain
~60%
5 Naples 🇮🇹 Italy
~50%
6 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
~50%
7 Tunis 🇹🇳 Tunisia
~40%
8 Rome 🇮🇹 Italy
~30%
9 Marrakesh 🇲🇦 Morocco
~20%
10 Rabat 🇲🇦 Morocco
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a European Serin in Jerusalem?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a European Serin sighting in Jerusalem on a given day, based on 75 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 116th most-seen of the 192 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a European Serin in Jerusalem?

November and December

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Serin in Jerusalem on a given day, against under 5% in January to October, the lowest months. Those are among Jerusalem's wettest months, with about 65 mm of rain a month against almost none in August.

What time of day is best to see a European Serin?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Serin sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Jerusalem the best place to see a European Serin?

30th of 38

Of the 38 cities where we can rate European Serin sightings, Jerusalem ranks 30th at under 5%. The best odds are in Barcelona (Spain, about 60%), Valencia (Spain, about 60%) and Lisbon (Portugal, about 60%).

Which relatives of the European Serin live in Jerusalem?

Same family: Fringillidae

The closest relatives of the European Serin that you can see in Jerusalem (family Fringillidae, Finches, Euphonias, and Allies) are European Greenfinch (about 80%), Chaffinch (about 40%) and Eurasian Goldfinch (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the European Serin sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the European Serin is recorded against all the birds logged in Jerusalem (75 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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