Brimstone Canary
Crithagra sulphurata
Large olive-green and yellow canary with a big, bulbous bill. Shows a bright yellow rump in flight. Found in a variety of habitats, including woodland, scrub, forest edge, gardens, and fynbos. The cheerful song is a fairly low-pitched mix of repeated trills and “chwee” notes. Similar to grosbeak-canaries, but has a brownish rather than pink bill. Also similar to Yellow-fronted Canary but has a bigger bill, a green rather than black streak below the face, and a green rather than gray nape. Similar to White-bellied Canary but has a yellow belly.
Identification
The brimstone canary is 15–16 cm in length with a heavy bill, which is short, conical and very stout at the base. The bill is light brown with a pinkish or yellowish base. The legs and feet are pinkish-brown. It has yellow-green upper parts with dark green streaking, yellow-green ear coverts and malar stripe, and two yellow wing bars. The underparts are yellow, with a greenish wash on the flanks, and breast. The sexes are similar, but the male is brighter, with a bigger bill, better defined face pattern, brighter yellow wing bars and a greenish rump. Young birds are duller, greyer and less yellow below than the adults.<p>The degree to which this bird is green or yellow varies considerably across regions. Southern birds are greener than northern birds, even within subspecies, notably with C. s. sharpii.For an overview of finch phylogeny (including canaries) see the entry on finches.<p>The brimstone canary can be confused with the yellow-fronted canary, but that species is smaller billed with a much more defined head pattern and a bright yellow rump. The yellow canary, with overlapping range, is also a known confusion species.<p>The call notes of the brimstone canary in the south of its range are a trilled, deeply pitched swirriwirrit or chirrup. The song is a jumble of chirps, whistles, warbles and trills, with the same deep pitch as the call. Northern birds have a faster, higher, less jumbled and more tuneful version of the song.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the brimstone canary in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected at the Cape of Good Hope. He used the French name Le gros-bec du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Coccothraustes Capitis Bonae Spei. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the brimstone canary. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Loxia sulphurata and cited Brisson's work. The specific name sulphurata is Latin word for "sulphurated".<p>The brimstone canary was subsequently placed in the genus Serinus, but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. The genus was therefore split and a number of species, including the brimstone canary, were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra, which had been introduced in 1827 by the English ornithologist William John Swainson.<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Crithagra sulphurata
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Crithagra
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The brimstone canary breeds from August to October. The nest is an open cup built from thin stems and other plant material and lined with plant down. It is placed in a leafy bush or a tree.<p>The brimstone canary is less gregarious than other canaries. It tends to be found singly or in pairs, or occasionally in small groups, and is a common visitor to gardens. It feeds on fruit, seeds, flowers and shoots. Hard seed cases are cracked with the stout bill.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Eastern Orphean Warbler
Curruca crassirostris
Plain but subtly attractive medium-sized warbler. Adult is gray with a black head and a white throat. Female has a less contrasting head pattern than the male. Younger birds are browner with a faded-looking version of the adult’s head pattern. Visually very similar to the Western Orphean Warbler, but the black on the head is more cleanly cut off from the gray of the back on Eastern Orphean Warbler. Also note the comparatively cleaner-looking belly on Eastern Orphean. Breeding ranges do not overlap. Breeds in open forests from which it delivers its song in phrases with an almost thrushlike warbling melody. Non-breeding habitats include open scrubby habitats, such as thornscrub and semidesert.
Yellow-bearded Greenbul
Criniger olivaceus
A fairly large and distinctive rainforest greenbul. Mostly dark olive-green, with a brown tail and some blue-gray bare skin around the eye. The bright yellow throat feathers are slightly puffy. Generally uncommon and inconspicuous in the understory and at middle levels of lowland rainforest. Similar in appearance to Western Bearded-Greenbul, but smaller, with a less puffy throat and no gray in the plumage. Similar to Red-tailed Greenbul, but has a yellow rather than pure white throat. Somewhat similar to Icterine Greenbul, but larger and much darker on the breast and belly. The song is a series of 3-4 chatty notes, sometimes ending on an upward inflection; similar to the song of Red-tailed Greenbul, but lower-pitched and less cheerful.
Crimson-winged Woodpecker
Picus puniceus
Greenish medium-sized woodpecker with bright red wings and crown. Also note striking yellow crest, cream-speckled sides, and pale blue-gray “spectacles”. Male has a greener face than the female, and has a maroon “mustache” stripe. Similar to Checker-throated and Banded Woodpeckers, but note Crimson-winged’s red crown and greenish body. Inhabits both primary and secondary forests, from lowlands into lower montane areas, as well as plantations and logged tracts; favors areas with scattered and isolated tall trees. Forages on trunks and large branches in upperstory, often in distanced pairs or mixed flocks. Call is a high-pitched “kee-dee”, with the second note often being repeated several times, occasionally with a descending quality.
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