Black Siskin

Black Siskin

Spinus atratus

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Lauca National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%

344 Verified sightings at Lauca National Park From 2019 to 2026
344 In 1 park
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Black Siskin

The black siskin (Spinus atratus) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The black siskin was originally described in 1837 with the binomial Carduelis atratus. 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 black siskin, the rest of the New World siskins, and the New World goldfinches were therefore elevated to now-genus Spinus.

The black siskin is monotypic. The black siskin is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs about 15 to 17 g (0.53 to 0.60 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic but not dramatically so. Adult males are almost entirely glossy black. The sides of the bases of their tail feathers are bright yellow. Their wings' greater coverts have yellow tips and the flight feathers have wide yellow bands across their bases. Their vent and undertail coverts are bright yellow. Adult females have slightly browner upperparts than males. The yellow parts of their tail and wings are paler than those... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:22

Peru · 2009

© Andrew Spencer · XC45908 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Song0:46

Argentina · 2013

© Peter Boesman · XC272627 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:27

Bolivia · 2009

© Dan Lane · XC150422 · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lauca National Park 🇨🇱 Chile
~40%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 La Paz 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~50%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Black Siskin in Lauca National Park?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black Siskin sighting in Lauca National Park on a given day, based on 344 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 37th most-seen of the 112 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Black Siskin in Lauca National Park?

March and December–January

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black Siskin in Lauca National Park on a given day, against about 10% in August, the lowest month. Those are among Lauca National Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against almost none in May.

What time of day is best to see a Black Siskin?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Siskin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Black Siskin?

Only Lauca National Park, in our data

Lauca National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Black Siskin sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Black Siskin live in Lauca National Park?

Same genus: Spinus

The closest relatives of the Black Siskin that you can see in Lauca National Park (genus Spinus, Siskins and New World Goldfinches) are Hooded Siskin (about 40%), Yellow-rumped Siskin (about 10%) and Thick-billed Siskin (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Black Siskin sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Black Siskin is recorded against all the birds logged in Lauca National Park (344 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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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