# Saffron Finch

Scientific name: Sicalis flaveola

Bird group: [finch](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/finch)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/288/Saffron-Finch

## Identification

The saffron finch  (Sicalis flaveola) is a tanager from South America that is common in open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon Basin. They have a wide distribution in Colombia, northern Venezuela (where it is called "canario de tejado" or "roof canary"), western Ecuador, western Peru, eastern and southern Brazil (where it is called "canário-da-terra" or "native canary"), Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago. It has also been introduced to Hawaii, Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Although commonly regarded as a canary, it is not related to the Atlantic canary. Formerly, it was placed in the Emberizidae but it is close to the seedeaters.
The male is bright yellow with an orange crown which distinguishes it from most other yellow finches (the exception being the orange-fronted yellow finch). The females are more difficult to identify and are usually just a slightly duller version of the male, but in the southern subspecies S. f. pelzelni they are olive-brown with heavy dark streaks.


## Distribution and habitat

The Saffron Finch is native to South America and believed to 
have been introduced to Puerto 
Rico through the pet trade 
in the 1960s (Raffaele 1989a, 
Raffaele and Kepler 1992). 
This songbird subsequently 
has become established on the 
island, and it is found mostly 
in the northern coast from the 
San Juan metropolitan area 
west to Arecibo (J.A. Salguero-
Faría, personal observation 
2009). However, during the last 
few decades it has expanded 
its range southward into the 
Cordillera Central with the 
construction of major highways (J.A. Salguero-Faría, personal 
observation 2009). In Puerto 
Rico, it occurs in cultivated lawns 
with scattered trees including 
parks, golf course edges, and 
gardens (Oberle 2018, Raffaele 
1989b). The species is unknown 
from Culebra and Vieques 
islands. The atlas fieldwork 
yielded a total of 35 records 
within 24 hexagons or 5 percent 
of the 479 total hexagons. Of 
the 24 hexagons where this 
species was found, breeding 
met the atlas definition of 
confirmed in 38 percent (nine) 
of the hexagons, probable in 33 
percent (eight), and possible in 
29 percent (seven) (see map). Saffron Finch distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in 
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.      279Saffron Finch/Gorrión Azafrán

## Breeding

The Saffron Finch builds its nests in cavities on buildings 
or trees, clumps of palm leaves 
(Oberle 2018), and even cement 
powerline posts (J.A. Salguero-
Faría, personal observation 
2009) from August to October, 
according to previously 
published reports (Raffaele 
and others 1998). Atlas results 
show breeding evidence year-
round, especially in May and 
June (see chart). Most of the hexagons where this species was 
found occurred in or near the 
metropolitan area of San Juan 
(see map). In addition, most of 
the hexagons where this species 
is confirmed to breed are located 
in the lowlands and within the 
subtropical moist forest life zone 
(see table and map).

## Conservation

The population of the Saffron Finch is stable across its 
distribution range, and it is considered a species of least 
concern by the IUCN (BirdLife 
International 2018). Locally, 
this species is not listed in any 
of the threatened categories of 
PRDNER and USFWS. In Puerto 
Rico, the Saffron Finch has a 
protected habitat of about 15 
percent (87 km2) of the total area covered by the hexagons where 
this species is known to breed 
(573 km2). 

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_288_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_288_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.