Yellow-fronted canary facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yellow-fronted canary |
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| Crithagra mozambica tando | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Crithagra
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| Species: |
mozambica
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| Synonyms | |
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Serinus mozambicus |
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The yellow-fronted canary (Crithagra mozambica) is a small songbird from the finch family. People who keep birds sometimes call it the green singing finch. This bird lives in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. You can find it in open woodlands and farm areas.
Scientists study birds and sometimes change how they group them. The yellow-fronted canary used to be in a group called Serinus. But new studies showed it fit better in a different group. So, it was moved to the Crithagra group in 1827.
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About the Yellow-fronted Canary
The yellow-fronted canary is a common bird that likes to be with other birds. It eats mostly seeds. This bird is about 11 to 13 centimeters (4 to 5 inches) long.
What Does It Look Like?
The adult male yellow-fronted canary has a green back. Its wings and tail are brown. Its belly and rump (the area above its tail) are bright yellow. Its head is yellow with a grey top and back of the neck. It also has a black stripe near its beak, like a mustache.
The female bird looks a lot like the male. However, her head colors are not as strong. Her yellow belly is also a bit duller. Young birds are even greyer than the female, especially on their heads.
What Does It Sound Like?
The yellow-fronted canary is known for its pretty song. It sounds like a warbled zee-zeree-chereeo.
Where Do Yellow-fronted Canaries Live?
These birds live in many parts of Africa. They build their nests in trees. Their nests are small and shaped like a cup. Females lay three or four eggs in each nest.
Yellow-fronted Canary Homes Around the World
Besides Africa, these birds have also been brought to the Hawaiian Islands. You can find them on the western side of Hawaii Island. They also live in southeastern Oahu and on Molokai island.
Types of Yellow-fronted Canaries
There are different types, or subspecies, of the yellow-fronted canary. They look slightly different depending on where they live. Here are some of them:
- Crithagra mozambica mozambica: Found along the coast of Kenya and Mafia Island in Tanzania. Also in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, and parts of South Africa.
- Crithagra mozambica punctigula: Lives in Cameroon.
- Crithagra mozambica caniceps: Found from Senegal to Cameroon.
- Crithagra mozambica tando: Lives from Gabon to northern Angola and parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was also brought to São Tomé island.
- Crithagra mozambica vansoni: Found in southeastern Angola, Namibia, northern Botswana, and southwestern Zambia.
- Crithagra mozambica barbata: Lives in southern Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, southwestern Kenya, and central Tanzania.
- Crithagra mozambica samaliyae: Found in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to southwestern Tanzania and parts of Zambia.
- Crithagra mozambica grotei: Lives in southeastern Sudan, eastern South Sudan, and western and southwestern Ethiopia.
- Crithagra mozambica gommaensis: Found in Eritrea and northwestern and central Ethiopia.
- Crithagra mozambica granti: Lives in eastern South Africa, eastern Eswatini, and southern Mozambique.
