Cape canary

Cape Canary
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Fringillidae
Genus:	Serinus
Species:	S. canicollis
Binomial name
Serinus canicollis (Swainson, 1838)
Subspecies
5, see text

The Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis) is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in eastern and southern Africa and has been introduced to Mauritius and Réunion.

Its habitat is fynbos, grassland and gardens, preferably in highland areas. It builds a compact cup nest in a scrub.

South Africa

The Cape Canary is 11–13 cm in length. The adult male has a green back with black edging to the wing feathers wings and tail. The underparts, rump and tail sides are yellow, and the lower belly is white. The rear head and neck are grey, and the face is cinnamon. The female is similar, but with a less grey on the head. The juvenile has greenish-yellow underparts with heavy brown streaking. This species is easily distinguished from the Yellow-fronted Canary by its lack of black face markings.

The Cape Canary is a common and gregarious seedeater. Its call is tsit-it-it, and the song is warbled Goldfinch-like trills and whistles given in display flight or from a high perch.

Phylogeny

This species is phylogeneticagy included within the group of Serinus alario now thriving around the southern Africa tip, together with Serinus syriacus (Asian distribution and Asian and African patches in winter) and Serinus pusillus (Asian distribution) Arnaiz-Villena et al, 1999

Subspecies

Arranged alphabetically.

• Serinus canicollis canicollis (Swainson, 1838)
• Serinus canicollis flavivertex (Blanford, 1869) – Yellow-crowned Canary
• Serinus canicollis griseitergum Clancey, 1967
• Serinus canicollis huillensis Sousa, 1889
• Serinus canicollis sassii Neumann, 1922

The East African form S. c flavivertex is very distinctive, much brighter, and with a yellow head, lacking the grey colour. It is sometimes given specific status as the Yellow-crowned Canary (S. flavivertex).

The Angolan S. c huillensis is also a bright, yellow-headed subspecies.

• 
  Four in a tree, South Africa

References

• Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, and Warwick Tarboton, SASOL Birds of Southern Africa (Struik 2002) ISBN 1-86872-721-1
• Clement, Harris and Davis, Finches and Sparrows by ISBN 0-7136-8017-2