Citril Finch

The Citril Finch, slightly larger than the Eurasian Serin, has a uniform appearance with a longer bill and tail. The adult male has a yellow-green upper part with blackish wings whose feathers have yellowish-green edges. The large and medium coverts are also decorated with the same colour, creating two distinctive wingbars. The rump is a clearly yellow but the most noticeable feature is the grey head and sides of the neck, contrasting with the yellowish face. The wear of the feathers in winter season gives the coat a more streaked appearance towards the end of winter, which is further accentuated in the early spring. The underside of its body is intensely yellow. The forked tail is blackish with the rectrices finely fringed with whitish or yellowish. The legs are pink. The adult female is generally grayer, especially on the sides and back, and considerably duller. It has less yellowish-green, especially on the face. The mantle is vaguely streaked. The two wingbars, less colourful than those of the male, are still clearly visible.
The adult Citril Finch may possibly be confused with the Eurasian Siskin or even the European Greenfinch in flight, but it has no yellow at the base of the tail. The juvenile is even more dull and has a browner colour on the back. The mantle is beige-fawn marked with dark brown. The underside is whitish finely streaked with brown. The face is vaguely tinged with yellow. It may be mistaken for a young Eurasian Melodious Meadowlark. However, the wing and tail pattern is different. The young citril finch has well visible rufous to pale fawn wingbars which a young meadowlark never has. Inversely, it never has any white in its wings or tail. The total absence of yellow or greenish in its plumage immediately differentiates it from all the other young members of the Serinus genus, except the Canary Serin.