- Crithagra mozambica
Serinus mozambicus
Identification
11–13 cm (4¼-5 in)
- Green back
- Broad supercilium
- Yellow head, underparts and rump
- Grey crown and nape
- Black malar stripe
- Brown wings and short tail
Female: similar, thous has duller underparts and less marked head pattern
Juveniles: greyer than the female, especially on the head.
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa:
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland.
Introduced to many countries including the Hawaiian Islands, where it is common and widespread.
Taxonomy
Placed in genus Serinus by Clements.
Subspecies
There are 10 subspecies[1]:
- S. m. caniceps: Senegal to Cameroon (south to Benue plain)
- S. m. punctigula: Cameroon (north to Toukte, Grand Capitaine and Koum)
- S. m. tando: Gabon to northern Angola and south-western Democratic Republic of the Congo; introduced São Tomé
- S. m. vansoni: Extreme south-eastern Angola and adjacent Namibia to northern Botswana, south-western Zambia
- S. m. barbatus: Southern Chad to Sudan, north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Kenya and central Tanzania
- S. m. samaliyae: South-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to south-western Tanzania and adjacent Zambia
- S. m. grotei: Southern Sudan (east of the Nile) to Eritrea and western Ethiopia
- S. m. gommaensis: Western Ethiopia (Lake Tana to Gomma)
- S. m. mozambicus: coastal Kenya and Mafia Island (Tanzania) south to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, eastern and south-eastern Botswana, and north-eastern South Africa (North West and Limpopo to Free State)
- S. m. granti: eastern South Africa (Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal south to Eastern Cape), eastern Swaziland, and southern Mozambique
Habitat
Lowland open woodland, bush, scrub, savanna, agricultural land, gardens.
Behaviour
Breeding
They build a compact nest in trees; the clutch consists of 3–4 eggs.
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of grass and weed seeds; other plant material such as buds, flowers and leaves. They also eat insects.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2015)
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Yellow-fronted Canary. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-fronted_Canary