The siskin - a small lively bird, a finch largely green and yellow. Male has a black cap, chin and throat. This bird has yellow wing flashes and a yellow rump and a notched tail which can be seen in flight. The females are much greyer with less yellow in their plumage and paler streaked underparts. Juveniles have browner upperparts and are even more heavily streaked than the female.

These birds like the treetops in the woodlands.

Siskins are seed eaters and have smaller bills than the other finches and their diet is mainly cone seeds such as birch, alder, spruce and pine. In the summer they eat insects. The siskins appeared at my garden feeder at Newmarket in the WEstern Isles this year (June 2009)

The name Siskin is derived from its sound or chirp. Thus, this bird’s common name is really “pine chirper.”

The female siskin builds the nest, which will be high in a conifer tree. The nest is small and tidy, built from twigs covered with lichen, and lined with feathers, hair and fine roots.The siskin nests in loose colonies, and pairs may visit one another's nests. The nest is defended against other siskins primarily during egg laying and incubation. Breeding birds flock together to forage. The nests are heavily insulated which will keep the eggs warm. Also the female siskin incubates the eggs constantly, which are deep blue and are normally four or five in number, and is absent from the nest only for brief periods. Her mate feeds her while she sits on the nest.

During the spring the male siskins display is quite elaborate - his song is delivered in flight whilst he is circling the trees

The male collared dove makes a showy display flight as it rises into the air. The clap their wings, and then glide down with their wings and tail spread out. When eating from conifers, it usually hangs upside down from the tips of the trees.