Protea canary

Crithagra leucopterus

The protea canary, ''Crithagra leucopterus'', is a small passerine bird in the finch family.
Protea canary (Crithagra leucopterus) Swartberg Pass, Western Cape, South Africa. Apr 2, 2016. Crithagra leucopterus,Fall,Geotagged,Protea canary,South Africa

Appearance

The protea canary is 15–16 cm in length with a large pale bill. The adult has grey-brown upperparts, a black chin, white throat and two thin buff wing bars. The underparts are buff with light streaking. The sexes are similar, but young birds are more heavily streaked below than the adults.

The call of the protea canary is a trilled ''tree-lee-loo'' or a ''sweet''. The song is a loud medley of warbles and trills, with much mimicry.

Distribution

It is an endemic resident breeder in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. This species is found in mature protea scrub, tangled valley thickets and forests in the mountains of the Western Cape Province. Its range does not reach the coast.

Behavior

The protea canary builds an open cup nest from thin stems and other plant material and lined with plant down. It is placed in a dense bush.

The protea canary is less gregarious than other canaries. It tends to be found singly or in pairs, or occasionally in small groups. It is a shy and retiring bird which stays in thick vegetation. When it flies, it soon dives back into cover. It feeds on seeds, and some fruit, nectar and shoots. Insects are occasionally eaten.

Habitat

It is an endemic resident breeder in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. This species is found in mature protea scrub, tangled valley thickets and forests in the mountains of the Western Cape Province. Its range does not reach the coast.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyFringillidae
GenusCrithagra
SpeciesC. leucopterus
Photographed in
South Africa