Black-headed canary

Black-headed canary
Male in Northern Cape, South Africa
Female in Namaqua National Park, South Africa
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Fringillidae
Subfamily:	Carduelinae
Genus:	Serinus
Species:	S. alario
Binomial name
Serinus alario (Linnaeus, 1758)
Global range   Year-Round Range   Summer Range   Winter Range
Synonyms
Emberiza alario Linnaeus, 1758 Fringilla alario Linnaeus, 1766 Crithagra alario (Linnaeus, 1758)

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.

Description[]

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.

Male Damara canary

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.

Phylogeny[]

This species is phylogenetically included within the group of Serinus syriacus now thriving around Mt. Lebanon and other Asian and African patches in winter, together with Serinus canicollis (African distribution) and Serinus pusillus (Asian distribution) Arnaiz-Villena et al., 1999

Behaviour[]

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.

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 ISBN 0-7136-8017-2

External links[]

• Black-headed canary - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.