BIRDING
winter birding: What to look for By Tony Lance
While it’s fun to casually watch birds at your feeder, learning to identify different species, particularly those that are similar in appearance, will add a new dimension to your backyard bird feeding experience. Here are two sets of birds, each set featuring a common bird alongside a less common but similar one, which you can look for this winter and practice your ID skills.
American Goldfinch vs. Pine Siskin A frequent and often plentiful visitor to feeder stations, the American goldfinch loses its canary yellow feathers in the winter and replaces them with a drab grayish brown plumage that has a touch of
A longtime birder, TWF office manager Tony Lance has been a member of the Tennessee Ornithological Society since 2008 and often leads TOS birding trips in Middle Tennessee.
HERE’S HOW TO TELL THEM APART: 1. Look at the underparts. The pine siskin is heavily streaked whereas the American goldfinch has no streaks at all.
2. Check out the bill. The American goldfinch’s bill
yellow around the face. The pine siskin, an occasional
is more conical while the pine siskin’s bill is sharp
winter visitor from the northern boreal forests, is the
and thin.
same size as the American goldfinch and has the
3. Look at the wings. The pine siskin has a bright
same feeding patterns, but is generally less common.
yellow wing bar feathers visible on its folded
It’s not unusual to get both species on a feeder at the
wings. The American goldfinch has white or buffy
same time.
wing bars.
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AMERICAN GOLDFINCH Tennessee Out-Of-Doors
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PINE SISKIN