Spinus magellanicus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Siskin sighting in Quito on a given day, based on 700 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 10th most-seen of the 167 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Hooded Siskin in Quito on a given day, against about 30% in March, May and July, the lowest months. That is one of Quito's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 180 mm in April.
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.
4th of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Hooded Siskin sightings, Quito ranks 4th at about 40%. The best odds are in Buenos Aires (Argentina, about 50%), Cochabamba (Bolivia, about 40%) and Rosario (Argentina, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hooded Siskin is recorded against all the birds logged in Quito (700 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.
