Abstract. – It is assumed that trade-offs between the costs of energy-efficient flight during migration and the costs of manoeuvrability cause wing shape to vary among birds that differ in migratory status. Migrants generally have more pointed wings than more sedentary species or populations. Here, we compare wing morphology between two closely related, allopatric passerine species, the migratory citril finch (Carduelis [citrinella] citrinella) and the sedentary Corsican finch (Carduelis [citrinella] corsicanus), drawing on morphometric measurements from museum specimens. In line with the general expectation, we show that the migratory citril finch has longer, more pointed wings than the sedentary island form. However, this morphological divergence may not have resulted from selection on migration-related wing characteristics alone, but also from selection towards rounder wings (increased manoeuvrability) in the island form that inhabits a more densely vegetated terrain than its mainland counterpart. We discuss the roles of habitat quality and niche exploitation in shaping wing morphological differences between island and mainland species.