Citril Finch on Fair Isle

07 June 2008

Fair Isle has come up with the goods once again, with yet another addition to the British List. A male Citril Finch was found on the island on 6th June, and was still present on at least the following day.

Although Citril Finches breed as close to Britain as eastern France, the species is relatively sedentary. However, there have been a few longer movements, including one in Finland between May and July 1995 (although this species is currently on category D of the Finnish list). The species is kept in captivity, although not especially commonly.

Citril Finch was actually on the British List in the past, but was removed when a bird taken in Great Yarmouth in 1904 was re-identified in the 1990s as actually being a Cape (Yellow-crowned) Canary.

For BUBO Listing purposes, Citril Finch has been added, as a provisional species, to the four authorities covering British listing, pending official acceptance. Obviously, if the record is later considered not acceptable by any authority then it will be removed from those lists.