The Cape canary (''Serinus canicollis'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where the ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. It is a resident breeder in southern

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and has been introduced to

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and

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. Its

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

, grassland and gardens, preferably in highland areas. It builds a compact cup nest in a scrub. 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 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 seed-eater. 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.

Subspecies

Arranged alphabetically.''Serinus canicollis''
ITIS Standard Report *Cape canary (''S. c. canicollis'') (Swainson, 1838) * ''S. c. griseitergum'' Clancey, 1967 *Kivu canary (''S. c. sassii'') Neumann, 1922 The East African subspecies (''S. c. flavivertex'') is very distinctive, much brighter, and with a yellow head, lacking the grey colour. It is now usually given species status as the yellow-crowned canary (''S. flavivertex'').

Gallery

Image:Cape Canary RWD.jpg, left,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

File:Cape Canaries.jpg, Four in a tree,

References

* Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, and Warwick Tarboton, ''SASOL Birds of Southern Africa'' (Struik 2002) * Clement, Harris and Davis, ''Finches and Sparrows'' by

External links

* Cape canary
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African BirdsAlso a renowned mens lifestyle brand of India selling shirtsHandbook of the birds of the world aliveCape canary
Structured guide to the species in southern Africa {{Taxonbar, from=Q1061889 Cape canary Birds of Southern Africa Cape canary Taxa named by William Swainson