Scientific name: Serinus citrinella (Pallas, 1764)
Bird group: Finches and Crossbills
Field characters. 12 cm. Resembles European Serin and Eurasian Siskin. A small, dark finch, without obvious rump or wing pattern. Underparts yellow, head greenish, crown and neck grey, mantle green, wings dark with two narrow green bars, tail dark. Short pointed bill. Female like male, but slightly streaked on crown and mantle. Juvenile streaked, without yellow. Subspecies corsicanus, with brown mantle on Corsica and Sardinia. Often in flocks.
Voice. Calls 'chee' and 'tsit'. Song twittering, resembling song of Eurasian Siskin, European Serin, or Goldfinch, given in circling song flight.
Distribution. Locally common resident in mountainous regions; corsicanus also in foothills and plains.
Habitat. Coniferous forest with glades and rocky slopes, and neighbouring fields and pastures. Populations from Alps and Pyrenees lower down in winter.
Food. Insects and seeds, especially pine seeds.