Spinus magellanicus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The hooded siskin (Spinus magellanicus) is a small passerine bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is found in every mainland South American country except French Guiana and Suriname. The hooded siskin has a complicated taxonomic history and as of early 2026 its taxonomy has not been fully resolved. It was originally described in 1805 with the binomial Fringilla magellanica. It was later moved to what was then the subgenus Spinus within genus Carduelis and also spent time in genus Sporagra. Beginning in about 2009 the subgenus was elevated to full genus level and the hooded siskin, the rest of the New World siskins, and the New World goldfinches were therefore elevated to now-genus Spinus.
The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World assign it these 12 subspecies. The status of some subspecies is not resolved. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lauca National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 2 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 7 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 10 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 11 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 12 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 13 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 14 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Mendoza | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Arequipa | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 7 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 9 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 10 | Curitiba | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kolmården Wildlife Park | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Siskin sighting in La Paz on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 54th most-seen of the 88 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Siskin in La Paz on a given day, against under 5% in February, June, August, October and December, the lowest months. Those are among La Paz's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in June.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hooded Siskin sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
12th of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Hooded Siskin sightings, La Paz ranks 12th at about 10%. The best odds are in Buenos Aires (Argentina, about 50%), Cochabamba (Bolivia, about 40%) and Rosario (Argentina, about 40%).
Same genus: Spinus
The closest relatives of the Hooded Siskin that you can see in La Paz (genus Spinus, Siskins and New World Goldfinches) are Black Siskin (about 50%) and Yellow-bellied Siskin (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hooded Siskin is recorded against all the birds logged in La Paz (24 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.
