Black-headed Canary - BirdForum Opus

Includes Damara Canary

Serinus alario

Alario alario, Crithagra alario

Photo by Twinspot.
Tankwa Karoo National Park, Northern Cape Province, South Africa.

Identification

Length 12 cm, mass 11-13 g. A striking canary with bold colouration.

Adult male (S. a. alario): Head, neck, chin, throat and centre of upper breast black, extending in an inverted 'V' to the lower breast; belly, centre of lower breast, flanks, and sides of the upperbreast white; back, rump, tail and wing coverts chestnut.

Adult female: Grey head, throat and breast, and white belly; chestnut back, tail and wing coverts.

Distribution

South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho.

Taxonomy

This species has two subspecies:¹

• S. a. alario

• Southern Namibia, South Africa from the west coast to Lesotho, and Lesotho.

• S. a. leucolaemus

• Range overlaps with S. a. alario, but extends further north in Namibia, and not as far south or west in South Africa.
• Male has a pied (rather than black) head, with a white eyebrow, cheeks, chin and throat; female has a faint whitish head pattern similar to that of the male.

Some authorities^2,3 consider S. a. leucoleamus a separate species, the Damara Canary, Serinus leucolaemus.

Habitat

Arid to semi-arid shrublands and grasslands; also weedy road verges, croplands and gardens.

Behaviour

Found in pairs or family groups when breeding; when not breeding, forms flocks of up to several hundered birds.

Forages on the ground and in shrubs, trees and grasses for seeds; also eats buds, petals, fruit and termites.

Breeding

Probably monogamous and territorial. The nest is a cup built by the female using dry grass, twigs and bark and lined with plant down; placed within a metre of the ground in a shrub or small tree. Two to five eggs are laid; incubated for 13-14 days by the female.

References

1. Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 0620340533
2. Sinclair I & Ryan P. 2003. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0620207299
3. Clements JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2008. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019

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