Crithagra


Crithagra is a genus of small passerine birds in the finch family. They live in Africa and Arabia.
The species in this genus were formerly assigned to the genus Serinus, but phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. It was therefore split into two monophyletic genera. Eight species, including the European serin, were retained in Serinus, while the other species were assigned to the resurrected genus Crithagra.

Species

The genus was introduced in 1827 by the English ornithologist William Swainson. The type species was subsequently designated as the brimstone canary. The name comes from the classical Greek krithē for "barley" and agra for "hunting".
The genus contains 37 species:
ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Príncipe seedeaterCrithagra rufobrunneaSão Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé grosbeakCrithagra concolorSão Tomé
African citrilCrithagra citrinelloidesEthiopia, Eritrea to western Kenya.
Western citrilCrithagra frontaliscentral Africa
Southern citrilCrithagra hypostictaSouth Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi.
Black-faced canaryCrithagra capistrataAngola, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Zambia.
Papyrus canaryCrithagra koliensisBurundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda
Forest canaryCrithagra scotopsCameroon, Congo, and Kenya.
White-rumped seedeaterCrithagra leucopygiaSudan
Black-throated canaryCrithagra atrogularisAngola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Yellow-rumped seedeaterCrithagra xanthopygiaEritrea, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Reichenow's seedeaterCrithagra reichenowieastern Africa
Arabian serinCrithagra rothschildiSouthwestern Arabian foothills savanna
Yellow-throated seedeaterCrithagra flavigulaEthiopia.
Salvadori's seedeaterCrithagra xantholaemaEthiopia.
Lemon-breasted canaryCrithagra citrinipectusMalawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Yellow-fronted canaryCrithagra mozambicaAfrica south of the Sahara Desert.
White-bellied canaryCrithagra dorsostriataEthiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Ankober serinCrithagra ankoberensisEthiopia
Yemen serinCrithagra menachensisSouthwestern Arabian foothills savanna
Cape siskinCrithagra tottaSouth Africa.
Drakensberg siskinCrithagra symonsiSouth Africa,
Northern grosbeak-canaryCrithagra donaldsoniEthiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.
Southern grosbeak-canaryCrithagra buchananiKenya and Tanzania.
Yellow canaryCrithagra flaviventrissouthern Africa
Brimstone canaryCrithagra sulphuratacentral and southern Africa.
Stripe-breasted seedeaterCrithagra striatipectusSudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
Reichard's seedeaterCrithagra reichardiZambia, Malawi and Tanzania
Streaky-headed seedeaterCrithagra gularissouthern Africa.
West African seedeaterCrithagra canicapillaGuinea, Sierra Leone, southern Mali and northern Ivory Coast across to southern Niger and northern Cameroon
Black-eared seedeaterCrithagra mennelliAngola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Brown-rumped seedeaterCrithagra tristriataEthiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.
White-throated canaryCrithagra albogularisAngola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa.
Thick-billed seedeaterCrithagra burtoniAngola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Streaky seedeaterCrithagra striolataBurundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Yellow-browed seedeaterCrithagra whytiiMalawi, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Kipengere seedeaterCrithagra melanochroaTanzania
Protea canaryCrithagra leucopteraSouth Africa.