Corsican Finch

Overview

The Corsican finch, also known as the Corsican citril finch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the family Fringillidae. It is endemic to Corsica and Sardinia, as well as nearby islands in France and Italy.

Identification

• Length between 11.5 and 12.5 cm with a brown back marked with dark streaks.
• Yellow underparts and face with less green tinge than the citril finch and greyish rather than olive uppertail coverts.
• Flight call described as weaker and more tremulous, while the song is longer and more structured, compared to that of a Eurasian wren.
• Females possess duller colours than males.

Habitat

Found on Corsica, Sardinia, and the Tuscan Archipelago islands of Gorgona, Capraia, and Elba. During the breeding season, it inhabits lowland garrigue to montane areas within dry scrub and conifer forests, specifically European black pine and maritime pine, as well as heathland with Tree heath, Genista, and bramble. In subalpine zones it occurs in low juniper, while non-breeding individuals move to scrub in lowland valleys, plains, and coastal areas.

Diet

Diet includes the seeds of European black pine, grasses, and herbs. In Sardinia, the species also feeds on the larval and pupal stages of ermine moths.

Did you know?

Although it appears very similar to the citril finch, genetic evidence shows they split from one another around 1.37 million years ago, yet they remain more closely related to each other than either is to the European goldfinch.