At 4–4.5 inches (10–11 cm) long and about 0.3 oz (9.5 g) in weight, it is the smallest North American Carduelis species. There is a slight NW-SE cline in size, with the largest birds from Mexico and south being up to one-fifth larger than the smallest from the extreme NW of its range; this effect is more pronounced in females. There is also considerable variation in the amount of black on head and back in males, and thus three subspecies have been proposed. But this variation too seem to be simple and clinal changes in allele frequency, and thus the "subspecies" might be better considered morphs or geographical forms.