Pine Siskin

On April 8, 2023 I was at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve in Morongo Valley, California when I saw my one and only (so far) pine siskin. It is small, about the size of the American goldfinch. It is brown on the upperparts, pale on the underparts and heavily streaked throughout. They have yellow patches on their wings and tail and white streaks on the wings. There are three subspecies and I saw ssp. pinus, found in Alaska, Canada, the western U.S. and northwestern U.S. They are mostly found in open conifer forests and northern pine forests support the majority of the breeding population. Migration is highly variable, probably related to food supply. Large numbers move south in some years and hardly any in others. 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World