Cape Siskin

Photo by bluehillescape
South Africa, November 2010

Serinus totta

Pseudochloroptila totta, Crithagra totta

Identification

Length 12-13 cm, mass 10-16 g.
Adult male: Back and wing coverts are warm olive-brown; flight and tail feathers are blackish brown with white tips. Rump, throat, breast and belly are yellow. Head pale brownish olive to greyish, lightly streaked brown and yellow; indistinct yellow eyebrow.
Adult female: Duller than the male; upperparts similar to those of the male, but white tips of flight and tail feathers are less distinct; throat and breast streaked brown.

Distribution

South-western South Africa (country endemic).

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].
Placed in genus Crithagra by Gill and Donsker and in Pseudochloroptila by Clements.

Habitat

Fynbos of mountains and valleys; also edges of forest and pine plantations, patches of alien Acacia, and gardens.

Behaviour

In pairs, family groups or flocks.

Diet

Forages on the ground in bare patches, mainly for seeds, but also eats buds, flowers, nectar and insects.

Breeding

The nest is a shallow cup of fine grass and fine rootlets and lined with fine grass (sometimes plant down, wool, or hair), built by the female. Three to four eggs are laid August to December, and incubated for about 13 days by the female (fed by the male on the nest).

There is one record of brood parasitism by Red-chested Cuckoo.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Cape Siskin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cape_Siskin

External Links

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