Eurasian Siskin

Is a Eurasian siskin right for you?

The Eurasian siskin (Spinus spinus, also classified as Carduelis spinus) is a small songbird known for the black cap and bib on the male and bright yellow wing patches on both sexes; in Turkey it is called "iskete", and in some regions also colloquially known as "citil kuşu". It breeds in Turkey only in the Black Sea region, but can be seen almost anywhere in the country during winter and migration. The main message of this guide is this: the siskin is not a cage bird species — it has been formally protected in Turkey since 2006. The right way to appreciate it is to watch it in the wild, not to take part in its capture.

If you love the siskin's chattering call, the canary meets that need in a far more appropriate way, both legally and for bird welfare.

Species note: this guide matches the database entry "İskete (Citil Kuşu)" with the Eurasian siskin (Spinus spinus), the species most commonly called "iskete" in Turkey. "Citil kuşu" is treated as a regional folk name for this species; because that specific naming could not be confirmed from a single authoritative source, the species identification is flagged for review.

Before you adopt

Legal status (Turkey). The siskin was placed under protection by decision No. 4 of the (then) Ministry of Environment and Forestry's Central Hunting Commission, dated 6 June 2006. Since that date, hunting, capturing, keeping, and transporting the siskin has been prohibited. This protection is applied under Law No. 4915 on Terrestrial Hunting and the associated Regulation on the Keeping, Production, and Trade of Game and Wild Animals and Products Derived from Them, rules aligned with the Bern Convention, to which Turkey is a party.

• Possession requirements: anyone wanting to keep a wild bird as a hobby must apply to the provincial agriculture and forestry directorate, document that it was legally obtained, and get a "Game and Wild Animal and Product Possession Certificate." For a protected species like the siskin, in practice this certificate is not issued for a wild-caught individual.
• Penalties and compensation: illegal hunting and damage to wildlife are penalised with a fee calculated from the annual compensation schedule approved by the provincial directorate; check with your provincial DKMP office for the exact current amount.

In practice:

1. Do not buy a siskin sold at a market, online, or by a bird dealer; buying an undocumented bird finances illegal trapping.
2. Report illegal trapping or sale to the provincial DKMP office, gendarmerie, or police.
3. If you find an injured siskin, put it in a dark, ventilated box and call the relevant authority; don't try to "nurse it back to health" and keep it yourself.

Outside Turkey, check your own country's wildlife protection rules for native finches before assuming a similar species can be kept.

Character and social needs

The siskin is a highly social bird that moves in large, active flocks during winter and migration, often mixing with other finches. It is commonly seen feeding while hanging acrobatically from the tips of alder and birch branches.

A wild-caught siskin never truly settles into a cage; it keeps trying to escape, hits the bars, and can injure its feathers and head. Singing in a cage does not mean it is content.

Housing and living space

The siskin's natural habitat is coniferous and mixed forest, particularly black pine woodland; in Turkey its breeding range is limited to the Black Sea region. You can invite this bird into your garden rather than your home:

• Tree and seed preference: alder and birch seeds are the basis of the siskin's natural diet; if you have these trees in your garden, you may host siskin flocks in winter.
• Bird feeder: a hanging feeder with small seed (nyjer, fine sunflower) draws siskins and other finches in winter; clean it regularly.
• Safety: place the feeder high enough that cats cannot ambush it, and position it either very close to or well away from windows to prevent collisions.

Feeding

The siskin's thin, pointed bill is adapted to extract seed from alder cones and birch catkins. It also eats small insects such as aphids, sawflies, and leafhoppers, especially while feeding chicks.

This specialised diet makes it difficult to keep a siskin healthy in a cage on a standard bird seed mix. If you are legally responsible for a documented bird, plan its diet together with a vet who treats birds.

Toxic to birds: avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, salted foods. Bread and similar human foods should not be given to wild birds.

Health and lifespan

The siskin is a small bird, 11 to 12.5 cm long, with a forked tail. It is classed as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List and rated "green" (low priority) for UK conservation status, meaning there is no serious global threat to the species overall. Even so, Turkey's breeding population is confined to a narrow area in the Black Sea region.

Reliable, vet-sourced data on the lifespan and health problems of caged siskins is limited. Known general risks include:

• Capture and transport stress: wild-caught birds can quickly show loss of appetite, sit fluffed up, and die suddenly.
• Cage injuries: head wounds and broken feathers from striking the cage top or bars, along with foot and wing injuries.
• Respiratory mites and scaly leg: air sac mites and Knemidocoptes mites seen in songbirds like the canary can also affect siskins.
• Nutritional deficiency: birds kept on a monotonous seed diet far from their natural range can show weight loss and poor feather condition.

If you find a sick or injured wild siskin, do not intervene yourself; get it to the relevant authority or a wildlife rehabilitation centre.

Watching in the wild and finding chicks

The siskin is not a domesticated species, so "taming" is not an appropriate goal for this bird.

1. If you find a fledgling on the ground, do not pick it up immediately. Feathered chicks spend time on the ground while learning to fly, and their parents are usually nearby. Watch from a distance.
2. If there is danger (a cat, traffic), move the chick to a nearby bush or tree.
3. For an unfeathered, injured, or sick bird, notify the relevant authority.
4. If you come across an illegally trapped bird, don't "buy it to rescue it" — that only pays the trapper. Report the situation instead.

History and life in the wild

The siskin is a semi-migratory bird spread across the coniferous forests of Europe and Asia. In Turkey it breeds only in Black Sea region forests; in winter it shows a variable migration pattern, sometimes reaching Central and Southern Europe and sometimes staying further north. Forming large, active flocks in winter and mixing with other finches is one of its most notable natural behaviours.

The beauty of its song and its lively flocking habits have historically made the siskin, like the goldfinch, one of the species trapped for cages. The protection decision in force since 2006 aims to reduce that pressure; the right way to hear this bird's call is still to watch it in a forest or garden.