From Opus

Photo by Westmidstraveller
Masai Mara, Kenya

Serinus dorsostriatus

Identification

Length 12-13 cm. Lower belly and undertail coverts white; rest of under parts yellow.

The Yellow-crowned Canary is similar, but has a less-marked head and black-and-yellow (rather than greenish) wings. The Brimstone Canary has a larger bill and yellow belly.

Distribution

Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Taxonomy

Serinus dorsostriatus has three subspecies:^[1]

• S. d. maculicollis

• Somalia, Ethiopia, extreme south-eastern Sudan, north-eastern Uganda and northern Kenya

• S. d. dorsostriatus

• South-eastern Uganda, western Kenya and north-western Tanzania

• S. d. taruensis

• Kenya to north-eastern Tanzania

Habitat

Dry savanna, grassland and thicket.

Behaviour

It feeds on the ground but also eats buds and flowers in the tops of trees.

The nest is lined with feathers and soft fine grasses. 2-4 eggs are laid and are incubated for about 14 days. The young fledge about 21 days later.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154

• List of references

External Links