The Black Hooded Red Siskin

Abstract

This wonderful and beautiful siskin has been placed on the endangered species list and this may be a mixed blessing. I have recently discussed this with Wildlife Department officer Sigler here in Miami, and he has promised to send me a complete explanation of the law and what the conscientious breeder can do within the law to help perpetuate this beautiful bird. Anyone of course can breed the red siskin but interstate transportation is forbidden. I am hopeful that the Department of the Interior will set up a special license for the conscientious breeder who is pursuing the scientific breeding and promotion of these rare and beautiful birds.

Contrary to what has been written in many books the natural habitat of the Red Siskin is exclusively the province of Lara in the Republic of Venezuela. This bird fortunately is very prolific and could once be found from the Gulf of Paria all the way to the Amazon frontiers of Columbia, an area no greater than the state of Florida. Fortunately the jungle has provided them with a safe shelter from all but the most persistent and experienced trapper who is their most deadly enemy.

Many breeders of the Red Siskin have asked me why the birds often sleep hanging sideways on the cage bars and if this is harmful to the bird. Extensive research and investigations and talks with longtime breeders have led me to the knowledge that the birds first developed this behavior so that they could sleep in the predator infested jungles. They will choose a fragile and sensitive twig or leaf to roost upon so that the slightest touch or movement will vibrate on the twig or leaf and will awaken the siskin, thereby enabling him to fly away to safety. In the years that I have bred the Siskins I have found that many of them retain this ancestral survival behavior in captivity.

These colorful little birds from the Fringillidae family are in such great demand all over the world that the Venezulean government, fearful of its complete extinction, which is a very real danger by the way, has set very high fines and jail terms for those caught attempting to trap Red Sisk.ins, or for that matter even if one is found in your possession. Only by a hard to come by special permit are a very few breeders permitted to work with them in an attempt to preserve the species. And yet it was with great sadness that on a recent trip to Europe I witnessed a bird dealer there with 3040 newly acquired birds from South America and he had no real idea of how to feed and care for them and was only giving them thistle (niger) and water. I seriously doubt if a single bird survived.

Contrary to what many Red Siskin keepers believe, the Red Siskin, if it is taught to, will eat a balanced seed diet which contains a high percentage of carbohydrates. The ideal diet is one consisting of: 25% canary; 25% thistle; 25% Panicum (gennan millet, also called small finch); 5% flax; 5% hemp; 5% lettuce and 10% steel cut oats. Several of the advertisers in this magazine carry a good siskin mix. All year round I soak sprayed millet, using one stem for every 5 birds, greens such as watercress, dandelion, chicory, cucumbers, oranges, etc. are fed daily. Some breeders like to use live food such as meal worms. I use egg yolk, cooked 20 minutes at a slow boil ( use the yolk only, never the white) as my source of animal protein supplement and I use it only when I am breeding,I never use more than 1/2 teaspoon egg yolk per bird.

When breeding I have tried many different nestling foods, they seem to have a preference in this order: soak seed minced with a little bit of Protein-25 ( or any commercial nestling food); chopped meal worms (I haven't had much luck with these); moistened egg biscuits. All of these are fed in addition to the regular seed of course and with tremendous amounts of greens, which they dearly love.

One good way to get your siskins to eat other seeds when he is used to thistle is to pull a little trick on him at feeding time. What I do is to remove the seed cup as if I were intending to fill it with fresh seed mixture. I blow away the husks and add a tiny bit of fresh seed, shaking the cup to redistribute the seeds and I return the cup to the cage. The Siskin is then forced to eat all the seeds instead of just eating those that are his favorite and ignoring the rest, since he counts on you replenishing his supply daily. Always be careful to change him over slowly so as not to starve a particularly stubborn bird.

The Red Siskin has a tremendous vitality and shows it by his vigorous reproduction and it is very common to see an 8 or 9 year old Siskin breeding true or hybridizing with canaries! The Red Siskin male will hybridize at almost any time with the canary, the best time to breed siskin to siskin is in April or in very warm, humid weather. February and March are best for Siskin-Canary hybridizing. The Siskin is a very strong bird and has a life span approximately twice that of the canary, 10 years not being unusual at all and I have seen and owned many 11 and 12 year old Siskins.

The Black Hooded Red Siskin has a deep red colored body with a head hood of coal black. The wings having a horizontal pattern break which is the same color as the body. The under feathers are grayish black. The color pattern is fabulous to look at, and if well and properly cared for the texture is so sleek and glossy. The female carries the dimorphic factor for the species, she is of the same pattern but grey colored. As a matter of fact I own one that has mutated off to white just like a dimorphic canary.

I hope with luck to own some pure white dimorphic Red Siskin females in a few years.

 

 

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