Finches · Perching birds
Fire-fronted Serin
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Serinus pusillus
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How to recognize it
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11–12 cm long
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Adults with dark foreparts and a red forehead patch; juveniles with a buff-brown head
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Rapid, shrill call: "titihihihihihi"
About the species
Most of its plumage is dark, with sooty foreparts and a dark breast. A red patch on the forehead contrasts with the dusky head. Adult plumage varies, though the dark-and-red pattern remains. Juveniles have buff-brown heads instead.
Outside the breeding season, it moves in small flocks, searching through thistle patches for food. Its call is a quick, shrill "titihihihihihi", similar to a Linnet’s.
It breeds in high mountain regions of the Caucasus and the higher ranges of Turkey and Iran, and also occurs in Ladakh and the Indian Himalayas. In winter, occasional wanderers reach the eastern Greek islands. People also keep it in cages, where it eats millet and other small seeds and can breed; escapees sometimes turn up across Europe.
Where to find
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During the breeding season in the high mountains of the Caucasus, Turkey, and Iran, listen for the Fire-fronted Serin's rapid, shrill call.
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Outside the breeding season, small flocks search through thistle patches — watch for movement among the stems.
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In winter on the eastern Aegean islands, listen for a rapid, shrill call — occasional vagrants reach the islands.
