Yellow-faced siskin

The Yellow-faced siskin was described in 1839 by John James Audubon from an adult male specimen in poor condition that he received from another ornithologist. The type locality was incorrectly given as "Upper California" due to the skin originally being collected from a captive bird there.[4] Audubon placed it in the genus Carduelis, it was later placed in the genus Spinus, which merged with Carduelis in 1976, before the genus Spinus was resurrected with the Yellow-faced siskin being placed in it. It's Phylogeny has been obtained by Antonio Arnaiz-Villena et al.[5][6][7] There are no recognised subspecies.

The Yellow-faced siskin is sexually dimorphic with the male having a black crown. Both sexes have a bright yellow body with an olive back and black and yellow wings; the legs are pink and the tail is black on top and white underneath. Like other birds in its genus, it has a cone-shaped bill adapted to hold and shell seeds. The amount of black on the males head can vary with the lores and ear coverts also being black on some birds. Its call is a complex and melodious warble much like the calls of other relatives like the Pine siskin and American goldfinch.

The Yellow-faced siskin has a spotty distribution throughout Southeastern Brazil in the states of Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, and Bahia. There is also a disjunct population in northern Venezuela, though many authorities consider these to be escaped cage birds; However, specimens of this population were collected there in 1914.

The Yellow-faced siskins diet mainly consists of small seeds but also feeds on berries and insects. Its nest is cup shaped and mainly made out of grasses, spider webs, and hairs. Despite its small range, it occurs in a wide range of habitats including caatinga, urban areas, forest edges, second growth forests, and coffee plantations.

The Yellow-faced siskin is currently ranked as vulnerable by the IUCN due to its heavy exploitation by the illegal bird trade which, along with deforestation pose serious risks to the bird. While the bird has always been semi-popular in the bird trade, increased trapping since the 1980s has seen a sharp decline in the birds population.