Syrian serin

Syrian serin
Illustration from "The Ibis", a Journal of Ornithology, vol. iv. 1868.
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Serinus
Species: S. syriacus
Binomial name
Serinus syriacus
Bonaparte, 1851

The Syrian serin is a brightly coloured small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

Description

The Syrian serin is prettily coloured with bright yellow and pale grey feathers. The eyes are large and are surrounded by a bright yellow ring. The beak is grey and the legs are pale pinkish-grey. It has a long trilling call, and may also chirp and twitter.

Distribution and habitat

All Syrian serin breeds in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan at altitudes of between 900 – 1,900 metres. The population in Jordan makes local movements in winter, but the birds of Lebanon, Israel and Syria migrate to wintering grounds in Egypt, Turkey and Iraq. They inhabit rocky areas with oak and conifer shrubs or trees and frequent grasslands and fields feeding mainly on the seeds of annuals and grasses. In Southwestern Jordan, its main diet during winter is the seeds of Artemisia.

Phylogeny

This species is phylogenetically included within the group of Serinus alario now thriving around the southern Africa tip, together with Serinus canicollis (African distribution) and Serinus pusillus (Asian distribution) Arnaiz-Villena et al, 1999 and Arnaiz-Villena et al, 2006

Breeding

Males court females with a song display, and each pair builds a nest in a tree once the snow has begun to melt in April or May. Four pale blue, glossy eggs are laid in April and May and the female incubates these for 12 – 14 days. The young fledge after just 14 – 16 days and the parents then move up to around 1,750 metres in July and August to produce a second clutch. When conditions allow, the pair can produce three broods. In southwest Jordan, most pairs apparently breed only once per year as suitable breeding habitat does not exist at higher elevations.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Serinus syriacus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.