The Pine Siskin is a small finch

Al Lowe
Contributor

This little bird is a finch, which means that it is related to sparrows, buntings, grosbeaks and so on. It really is a sort of nondescript little bird, mostly brown streaked. It does have quite noticeable yellow bars on its wings, but you can see these only when the bird is flying.
Siskins are very social birds. When they are not nesting, they travel in large flocks, calling to each other continually. If you have a flock of them visit your area, you will not forget those calls. They shrill continuous notes, described as being like a faulty valve on a steam radiator. The birds seem to ‘buzz’ all through their waking hours. They are impartial eaters. In summer, they feed on all sorts of insect, larvae and eggs, as well as whatever seed are available. In winter, the diet is mainly restricted to seeds of various kinds. They will descend by the dozens on a single spruce tree, and meticulously pick out the seeds from every single cone. On the west coast, they sometimes invade spring gardens, and eat every speck of newly sprouted beets, chard, lettuce and onions. Because of their numbers, they can wipe out a large garden in short order. In winter, they are very industrious in finding insect eggs under bark, and dormant insects in tiny crevices. They will sometimes go over a house with wood shingles, finding spiders, insect eggs and cocoons under each board. They also seem to be very attracted to salt. They go to animal salt licks in great numbers, and of course, to our roadsides in the winter. The Pine Siskin breeds from Alaska through to Newfoundland, south to the northern states and along the mountains to California. In winter, many of them drift much further south. They are usually quite common here in northern Ontario, and are easily attracted to feeders. They prefer small seed like millet, but will eat almost anything edible when they get hungry enough. Try a bit of salt, too, and see how it works. Even when these birds are nesting, they tend to gather in small groups to feed. This habit is not common at all among our small birds. Siskins are quite tame, and can be fairly easily caught. Years ago, people used to keep them in captivity. Apparently they do sing, and very beautifully. The song is something like that of the domestic canary, a close relative. So their sounds are not all buzzes. The Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus) is a sparrow-like bird, but with a much thinner beak. You can tell what they are by the yellow wing flashes when they fly, and by the constant buzzing when they are eating.