I've been hearing flocks of these small finches flying overhead. This is a rather nomadic species, and California is experiencing a major invasion of these birds right now. There are three subspecies. This is the widespread nominate North American race. Two others are found in Mexico. They are less distinctly streaked and differ in size and the amount of yellow in the tail. Based on mitochondrial genetic data these siskins and North American goldfinches were moved from the genus Carduelis to Spinus in the 50th supplement to the AOU Check-list. This change produced one of my favorite rhyming scientific bird names.
