Tibetan serin
| Tibetan serin | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female Tibetan serin from Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, Sikkim, India | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Fringillidae |
| Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
| Genus: | Spinus |
| Species: | S. thibetanus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Spinus thibetanus (Hume, 1872)
| |
The Tibetan serin (Spinus thibetanus) or Tibetan siskin is a true finch species (family Fringillidae).
Taxonomy and systematics
[edit]The Tibetan serin was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but was assigned to the genus Spinus based on a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.[2][3]
The first description of the species was by the British ornithologist Allan Octavian Hume in 1872 under the binomial name Chrysomitris thibetanus.[4] In the 19th century, it was also referred to as the Sikkim siskin.[5] At that time, the Lepcha of Sikkim referred to it as tŭk nyil nyón ('fierce wormwood').[6]
Description
[edit]Length (including the tail) of this species is around 12 cm (4.7 in). The Tibetan siskin lacks yellow panels on its wings in all plumages. Adult males have olive-greenish upper parts, yellow underparts, yellowish-green rumps, yellow supercilium and border behind ear-coverts. Wing and tail feathers of this bird species are broadly differentiated by a yellowish-green color. Adult females of this species have black streaking on darker greyish-green upper parts, more clearly defined wing-bars than their male counterparts, paler yellowish throats and black-flanked breasts with streaking. Juveniles are duller green, tinged brownish-buff on upper parts, with duller rumps, buff fringes to greater coverts and paler or heavily streaked underparts.
Distribution
[edit]This species is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It spends the winter in the central and eastern Himalayas. A group of birders from West Bengal discovered its presence in Hee Village near Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, Sikkim, India in the month of March 2013.
Habitat
[edit]Tibetan serins generally breed in mixed forest and spend their winter in alder.
Voice
[edit]Their soft chattering sound is much like twang twang.
References
[edit]- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Spinus thibetanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22720069A94656586. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22720069A94656586.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Finches, euphonias". World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ^ Zuccon, Dario; Prŷs-Jones, Robert; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62 (2): 581–596. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002. PMID 22023825.
- ^ Hume, Allan Octavian (1872). "Description of six new species of Indian birds". Ibis. 3rd series. 14 (2): 107–111. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1872.tb06136.x.
- ^ Blanford, W.T (1890). The Fauna Of British India. Vol. 2. p. 244.
- ^ Mainwaring, G.B. (1898). Dictionary of the Lepcha-Language. pp. 129–130.
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