Zitronengirlitz / europ. Citrilfinch / Serinus citrinella
Finken Fringillidae

The Citril finch belongs to the finch family, and the suborder of songbirds and order of passerine (sparrows).

This bird is rare in Germany, except for in higher altitudes of the Black Forest and Bavarian Forest .
In southern Europe it is found mostly in mountain ranges from 1700 meters altitude.

Size is 12,5 cm, and weighs 15 grams. The plumage is yellow-green. The neck and upper back are greenish-grey. The yellow wing bars are clearly visible, the female being less colourful, with faded spots. The 4-5 blue-greenish, red-speckled eggs (size: 16 x 13 to 17.6 x 11,0 mm) are laid during good seasonal conditions at the end of March. The nest is built high in spruce and fir trees.

On Corsica, Sardinia, and Elba there is a subspecies with rust-coloured back, and dark striped breast. Mixed forests, sunny rocky slopes, as well as meadows, and belts of evergreen forests are preferred habitats. Diet consists of seeds, green buds. Insects are consumed rarely, except during rearing of the young. The birds which are found in Corsica could soon be defined as a separate species!

The song is metallic and melancholy.

Habitat:

Resident in mountainous areas, feeding in short grass or by roadsides but breeding in nearby trees. Sometimes found around car-parks in winter.

I do know a place, in the northern Black Forest near the City of "Freudenstadt" there is a more stably population of serinus citrinella.

I could watch them frequently (particularly often 1986 and again 2001) near the Forest and Meadow range west and east of the "Murg" (a small brook), up 800 m NN. In this Area you've good chances to observe the Citril in the appropriate biotope. Another particularly good area in the northern Black Forest are the summits northwest of the following mountain range: (enumerating from north to south): Hornisgrinde/Katzenkopf, the southern summit of "Altsteiger Kopfes" the (80 hectars), the "Vogelkopf" as well as the cross "Schliffkopf". The area extends 10 km in north south direction and is on the average 2 km broad. The ski slopes of the "Ruhestein" are likewise a good area to observed the Citril in its natural habitat.

Breeds widely in the Alps, the Pyrenees and some of the Spanish Sierras but can be a very difficult bird to locate even if you know its soft little calls. Good sites in France include Arrete Pierre St Martin and Gavarnie in the Pyrenees, Clapeyto in the Alps and Mont Ventoux. The birds which are found in Corsica could soon be defined as a separate species.

 Habitat quality is generally thought to affect breeding success. We tested this effect comparing differences in clutch size and reproductive success between citril finch Serinus citrinella sub-populations closely located (<5 km) but differing in habitat quality, within the Port del Comte mountain, in the Catalonian Pre-Pyrenees. We found that birds in the low quality area (Bofia) showed significantly lower hatching, breeding and nesting success than finches in the high quality area (Vansa). These differences in reproductive success fit well with recently found differences in citril finch body mass, fat score, diet, survival rate and speed of moult between these two localities.

Care and Breeding:

The Citril (Serinus citrinella) is rarely available from breeders.
The species of serin is highly discouraged for beginners, as it is extremely difficult to breed and is very susceptible to bacterial infection. This can only be avoided by keeping the aviary extremely clean.
The best floor material for the aviary is earth covered with a few inches of spruce or fir needles.

As nest material the female uses coconut fiber, sisal, moss, short horsehairs (dog hairs are just as good), thistle down, and other similar plant materials.

During the brooding the female is fed by the male. When the eggs hatch, the chicks are fed half-ripe seeds from the following plants: Dandelion, chickweed, various grasses. Live food in the form of green aphids and an occasional mealworm is also offered. The youngsters fledge after fourteen day and are fed by the adults until they are independent. Rarely, the pair breeds a second time. The youngsters resemble the female but have more stripes.

The diet of the Citril Finch (Serinus citrinella) in its eastern range is well known, especially in spring; however, no data are available from its western populations. The aim of this ­paper is to provide extensive data on the diet of the species in the Pyrenees. Samples were obtained by visual inspection of the gullet of 3394 birds from 49 different localities over an area of 4000 km2. Analyses revealed a clear phenological pattern: (1) the Arvensis period, November-January, when the bird relies on farmland seeds, mainly Chenopodium sp. (2) the Arboreal period, February-May, when the birds focus on Pine seeds (Pinus nigra and P. uncinata); (3) the Meadow-Ruderal period, June-October, when the bird feeds on several grasses and herbs, including Taraxacum officinalis (mainly in June) and Cirsium sp. (mainly August-September). Hence the Citril finch normally specialises in a few key species, but during certain periods may opportunistically expand its dietary range. Pine seeds appear crucial, both in determining the breeding distribution of the species and in allowing opportunistic spring breeding.

Habitat quality is generally thought to affect breeding success. We tested this effect comparing differences in clutch size and reproductive success between citril finch Serinus citrinella sub-populations closely located (<5 km) but differing in habitat quality, within the Port del Comte mountain, in the Catalonian Pre-Pyrenees. We found that birds in the low quality area (Bofia) showed significantly lower hatching, breeding and nesting success than finches in the high quality area (Vansa). These differences in reproductive success fit well with recently found differences in citril finch body mass, fat score, diet, survival rate and speed of moult between these two localities.