I've been watching the various finches visiting the bird table today and there's no doubt that siskins come top of the pecking order in terms of sheer aggression. On several occasions I saw them compete successfully with greenfinches, which are 50 per cent larger, for sunflower seeds. When it comes to thistle seeds, they also intimidate the larger goldfinches. And when they aren't fighting other species they fight amongst themselves. Small birds with a lot of attitude ....
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Yea, they certainly are aggressive little things at times, considering their size.
ReplyDeleteLovely garden visitors to have though.
Couldn't agree more Keith - one of my favourite birds. They seem to hang around in the garden longer at the end of winter than they used to....
ReplyDeleteThey are great. Chased Starlings of my feeders last week. Pots and kettles......I thought.
ReplyDeleteI envy you over your Siskins, Phil. A few years back we had such an invasion of them in the garden that they were emptying our 180mm niger feeder in just a few hours. I ordered a 540mm one and by the time it arrived a couple of days later they'd gone! It now sits largely unused in the shed in the hope that one day they'll return. We've just had a few brief visits since then.
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