They were moved to the resurrected genus Spinus based on phylogenetic studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.

[7] The radiation of South American siskins was rapid, and was originally thought to have occurred around 3.5 million years ago due to a range expansion associated with the Great American Interchange and contingent upon the spread of mesothermal plants from the Rocky Mountains to the Andes.

[7] More recent work suggests the radiation occurred much later, within the last 1 million years, and speciation events may have been initiated by the climactic variations of the late Pleistocene.

Most species eat a variety of small seeds, especially from asters, grasses, alders, and birches.

Species in this clade are threatened by habitat loss and capture for the cage-bird trade.