Yellow-fronted canary
| Yellow-fronted canary | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Fringillidae |
| Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
| Genus: | Crithagra Swainson, 1827 |
| Species: | C. mozambicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Crithagra mozambicus (Müller, 1776) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Serinus mozambicus | |
The yellow-fronted canary (Crithagra mozambicus) is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is known elsewhere and in aviculture as the green singing finch.
The yellow-fronted canary was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic.[2] The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the yellow-fronted canary were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra Swainson 1827.[3][4]
This bird is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Its habitat is open woodland and cultivation. It nests in trees, laying 3–4 eggs in a compact cup nest.
The yellow-fronted canary is 11–13 cm in length. The adult male has a green back and brown wings and tail. The underparts and rump are yellow, and the head is yellow with a grey crown and nape, and black malar stripe. The female is similar, but with a weaker head pattern and duller underparts. Juveniles are greyer than the female, especially on the head.
The yellow-fronted canary is a common, gregarious seedeater. Its song is a warbled zee-zeree-chereeo.
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Serinus mozambicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Zuccon, Dario; Prŷs-Jones, Robert; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62 (2): 581–596. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002.
- ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Finches, euphonias". World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ Swainson, William (1827). "On several forms in ornithology not hitherto defined". Zoological Journal 3: 348.
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
- Finches and Sparrows by Clement, Harris and Davis, ISBN 0-7136-8017-2
External links
- Yellow-fronted canary - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.