The streaky-headed seedeater or streaky-headed canary (''Crithagra gularis'') is a small
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
in the
finch
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
. It is an unobtrusive but widespread species in suitable habitats of
southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
. Its presence in an area is revealed foremost by its callnotes.
Taxonomy
left, ''C. g. endemion'' feeding on redgum seeds in
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
The streaky-headed seedeater was formerly placed in the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Serinus
''Serinus'' is a genus of small birds in the finch family Fringillidae found in Europe and Africa. The birds usually have some yellow in their plumage. The genus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch. Its name is New L ...
'' but phylogenetic analysis using
mitochondrial
A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is use ...
and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was
polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...
. The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the streaky-headed seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus ''
Crithagra
''Crithagra'' is a genus of small passerine birds in the finch family (Fringillidae). They live in Africa and Arabia.
The species in this genus were formerly assigned to the genus ''Serinus'', but phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nucle ...
''.
There are five recognized
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
,
[ differing mainly in the colour shade of the upperparts and underparts. ''C. g. humilis'' of the southwestern ]Cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
has dusky plumage and indistinctly streaked upperparts.West African seedeater
The West African seedeater (''Crithagra canicapilla'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other re ...
(''Crithagra canicapilla'') as a subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the streaky-headed seedeater.Mt Elgon
Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda. in Kenya, may be conspecific with either the West African seedeaterstripe-breasted seedeater
The stripe-breasted seedeater (''Crithagra striatipectus'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae.
It is native to Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
The stripe-breasted seedeater was formerly conspecific with Reichard's seedeater (''Crithag ...
.
Description
The streaky-headed seedeater is 13–14 cm in length. The adult has brown upperparts with some faint streaking and a plain brown rump. The head has a finely white-streaked crown, dark face, and white 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.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also ...
and chin. The underparts are warm buff. The sexes are similar, but some females show a little breast streaking. The juvenile has less head streaking, a dull supercilium, more heavily streaked upperparts, and heavy streaking on the pale grey underparts.
Distribution and habitat
Its habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
is open woodland and scrub, including savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
, orchards, and gardens. It builds a compact cup nest in a scrub.
Behaviour
The streaky-headed seedeater is usually seen in pairs, but can be gregarious, forming large flocks, alone or with other canary
Canary originally referred to the island of Gran Canaria on the west coast of Africa, and the group of surrounding islands (the Canary Islands). It may also refer to:
Animals Birds
* Canaries, birds in the genera ''Serinus'' and ''Crithagra'' i ...
species. It feeds on soft fruit, weed seeds and buds, and sometimes takes insects. Large flocks can damage sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
, millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
and other cereal
A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...
crops.
This is an unobtrusive finch, often perching inside bushes. Its call is a soft ''tseee'', and the song is a ''wit-chee-chee-chee-cha cha cha cha chip'', interspersed with mimicry of other species. There is also a ''tweu tweu tirrirrit-tink'' given in display flight.
References
External links
* Streaky-headed seedeater
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27075840
streaky-headed seedeater
Birds of Southern Africa
streaky-headed seedeater
.jpg.html){kind=link}