The Damara Canary, Serinus leucolaema, is a small passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

 bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 in the finch

Finch

The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

 family

Family

In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...

.

Description

The Damara Canary is 12-15 cm in length. The adult male has rich brown upperparts and tail, a white hind collar and mainly white underparts. The head pattern is striking; whereas male Black-headed Canary has a solidly black head and central breast, Damara has a white supercilium

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. Also known as an "eyebrow", it is distinct from the eyestripe, which is a line which runs...

, and white throat and fore neck with a black moustachial stripe. The black of the central breast is therefore separate from the black of the head.

The adult female is similar, but has a dull grey head, and is dark-streaked on the head and upperparts. It has a rich brown wing bar. The female is similar to female Black-headed Canary, but shows faint traces of the male head pattern. The juvenile resembles the female, but is paler, has streaking on the breast, and a weaker wing bar.

Distribution and habitat

It is a resident breeder in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

 and southern Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

. It is sometimes placed in genus Alario as Alario leucolaema, and some authorities treat it as a subspecies of Black-headed Canary

Black-headed Canary

The Black-headed Canary is a species of finch found in Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. It is sometimes placed in genus Alario as Alario alario...

, Serinus alario. Its habitat

Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

is dry open scrub and grassland, edges of cultivation, and suburban gardens.

Behaviour

The Damara Canary is a common and gregarious seed-eater, forming flocks of up to 200 birds. Its call is a low tseett, and the male’s song is jumble of unmusical notes.