The red-fronted serin or fire-fronted serin (''Serinus pusillus'') 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 are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the finch family Fringillidae. It prefers high mountain regions and is 11–12 cm long. This bird breeds in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and the higher

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

, with vagrants occasionally reaching the

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Eastern Aegean Islands in winter. This bird is also found in

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

and other parts of the

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

. Outside the breeding season, it occurs in small flocks, typically seen searching through thistle patches. It is a popular cagebird, and escapees from captivity are occasionally found throughout Europe. The bird is variable in plumage, with adults resembling very dark redpolls. The foreparts are sooty and the forehead is red; juveniles have buff-brown heads. The call is a rapid, shrill "titihihihihihi", resembling that of a Linnet. The bird will breed in captivity and thrives on a diet of canary grass seed, millet, and other small seeds. They bathe daily if water is accessible.

Phylogeny

This species is phylogeneticagy 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 alario'' (southern tip of Africa distribution
Arnaiz-Villena et al., 1999

Gallery

File:Fire-frontedSerin_at_Deoria_Tal.jpg, left, Fire-fronted serin at Deoria Tal,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...

File:Fire-fronted_serin_at_Deoria_Tal.jpg, Fire-fronted serin at Deoria Tal,

File:Serinus pusillus MHNT 223 Caucase.jpg, Eggs of ''Serinus pusillus'' MHNT File:Fire-fronted_Serin.jpg, Fire-fronted serin

References

External links

Red-fronted serin From Turkey
{{Taxonbar, from=Q621833 red-fronted serin Birds of Azerbaijan Birds of Western Asia Birds of Central Asia Birds of Afghanistan Birds of North India Birds of Western China red-fronted serin