Black-headed canary | |
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Male in Northern Cape, South Africa | |
Female in Namaqua National Park, South Africa | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Fringillidae |
Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
Genus: | Serinus |
Species: | S. alario |
Binomial name | |
Serinus alario | |
Global range Year-Round Range Summer Range Winter Range | |
Synonyms | |
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The black-headed canary (Serinus alario) is a species of finch found in Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. It is sometimes placed in the genus Alario as Alario alario
Its habitat is dry open scrub and grassland, the edges of cultivation and suburban gardens.
The black-headed canary is 12–15 cm in length. The adult male has rich brown upper parts and tail, a white hind collar, and mainly white underparts. The head and central breast are solidly black.
The adult female is similar, but has a dull grey head, and is dark-streaked on the head and upper parts. It has a rich brown wing bar. The juvenile resembles the female, but is paler and has streaking on the breast and a weaker wing bar.
The Damara canary (Serinus leucolaema) is often considered to be a subspecies of the black-headed canary. The male of that form has a strikingly different head pattern, with a white supercilium, and a white throat and foreneck with a black moustachial stripe. The black of the central breast is therefore separate from the black of the head.
The Damara canary is a common and gregarious seed-eater, forming flocks of up to 200 birds. Its call is a low tseett, and the male's song is a jumble of unmusical notes.
The fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in the United Kingdom, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of molluscs, insects and earthworms in the summer, and berries, grain and seeds in the winter.
The European serin, or simply the serin, is the smallest species of the family of finches (Fringillidae) and is closely related to the Atlantic canary. Its diet consists mainly of a combination of buds and seeds.
The yellow-legged buttonquail is a buttonquail, one of a small family of birds which resemble, but are unrelated to, the true quails. This family is peculiar in that the females are larger and more colourful than the males and are polyandrous.
The rufous-tailed plantcutter, sometimes called the Chilean plantcutter, is a passerine bird of southern South America, now placed in the cotinga family. It is a medium-sized bird about 19 centimetres (7.5 in) long with a long black tail with a red base. Males have greyish-brown upper parts, a chestnut crown and breast, and dark facial markings. Females are similar but lack the chestnut crown and have streaked, buff underparts. There is a wing bar which is white in the male and buff in the female. This is a fairly common species with a wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The Cape canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in southern Africa and has been introduced to Mauritius and Réunion.
The yellow-crowned canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in eastern Africa. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Cape canary.
The yellow canary is a small passerine bird in the true finch family. It is a resident breeder in much of the western and central regions of southern Africa and has been introduced to Ascension and St Helena islands.
The streaky-headed seedeater or streaky-headed canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an unobtrusive but widespread species in suitable habitats of southern Africa. Its presence in an area is revealed foremost by its callnotes.
The Cape siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the southern Cape Province of South Africa.
The brimstone canary or bully canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in central and southern Africa.
The protea canary, also known as the protea seedeater, white-winged seedeater or Layard's seedeater, is a small passerine bird in the finch family.
The Drakensberg siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the eastern Cape Province Transkei and western Natal in South Africa, and in Lesotho.
The olivaceous siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The white-throated canary is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae.
The lemon-breasted canary, also known as the lemon-breasted seedeater, is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savannah, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and rural gardens.
The Tibetan serin or Tibetan siskin is a true finch species.
The Madagascar sandgrouse is a species of bird in the family Pteroclidae. It is endemic to Madagascar and is a ground-dwelling short-legged plump bird. The head of the male is brown with a black area surrounding the beak. It has a pinkish-buff coloured breast, a light brown mottled back, brown wings and paler underparts barred with dark brown. The female has a generally duller appearance being cryptically coloured brown with dark specks and bars.
The olive-bellied sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is widely spread across African tropical rainforest.
The Damara canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family.