Black-headed Canary
Encyclopedia
The Black-headed Canary (Serinus alario) is a species of finch
found in Lesotho
, Namibia
and South Africa
. It is sometimes placed in genus Alario as Alario alario
Its habitat
is dry open scrub and grassland, edges of cultivation and suburban gardens.
The adult female is similar, but has a dull grey head, and is dark-streaked on the head and upperparts. It has a rich brown wing bar. The juvenile resembles the female, but is paler, has streaking on the breast, and a weaker wing bar.
The Damara Canary
, Serinus leucolaema, is often considered to be a subspecies of Black-headed Canary. The male of that form has a strikingly different head pattern, with a white supercilium
, and a white throat and fore neck with a black moustachial stripe. The black of the central breast is therefore separate from the black of the head.
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
found in Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is sometimes placed in genus Alario as Alario alario
Its habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
is dry open scrub and grassland, edges of cultivation and suburban gardens.
Description
The Black-headed Canary is 12–15 cm in length. The adult male has rich brown upperparts 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 upperparts. It has a rich brown wing bar. The juvenile resembles the female, but is paler, has streaking on the breast, and a weaker wing bar.
The Damara Canary
Damara Canary
The Damara Canary, Serinus leucolaema, is a small passerine bird in the finch family.-Description:The Damara Canary is 12-15 cm in length. The adult male has rich brown upperparts and tail, a white hind collar and mainly white underparts...
, Serinus leucolaema, is often considered to be a subspecies of Black-headed Canary. The male of that form has a strikingly different head pattern, with a white supercilium
Supercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head. Also known as an "eyebrow", it is distinct from the eyestripe, which is a line which runs...
, and a white throat and fore neck with a black moustachial stripe. The black of the central breast is therefore separate from the black of the head.