166 FRINGILLID53 SERINUS 



Young of the year. The throat, breast and sides are tinged with 

 reddish-brown and streaked with dusky. 



Distribution. Cape Colony ; most abundant in the south and 

 south-east ; ranging into Great Namaqua and Bechuanaland on the 

 north, into Natal and the Southern and Eastern Transvaal to the 

 east. In the Colony this species is not uncommon in the neighbour- 

 hood of Swellendam, Knysna and Eland's Post. To the north of 

 the Orange River it is only sparingly met with. 



Habits. In Cape Colony during autumn and winter these 

 finches are met with in small parties of six or seven, generally in 

 open bushy localities, where they feed on the ground on small grass 

 and other seeds. According to Atmore they are fond of tobacco 

 seed, chickweed and groundsel. If disturbed they utter a sharp 

 " chirp " as they take flight and fly off to seek refuge in some thick 

 bush, but as a rule they are rather silent birds. In September and 

 October they build in bushes or low trees. The nest is open and 

 cup-shaped, neatly and compactly constructed of dry grass and bents, 

 lined with white cottony seeds and down. The eggs, three or four 

 in number, are very faint bluish-white with usually a few dots or a 

 single streak of dark purplish black towards the larger end. 



They measure 0-87 X 0-62. 



Genus IV. SERINUS. 



Type. 

 Serinus, Koch, Syst. Zool. p. 228 (1816) S. serinus. 



Bill strong, short, somewhat conical, but very broad at the base 

 and with the distal half suddenly diminishing to the tip ; mandibles 

 nearly equal in size, but the upper slightly the longer ; edges plain. 

 Nostrils basal, round, and hidden by recurved frontal plumes. 

 Gape straight. Wings : the first primary very small, the second, 

 third and fourth nearly equal. Tail moderate, rather forked. 

 Tarsus slender, shorter than the middle toe, scutellated in front, 

 covered on each side by a single plate ; claws small and rather 

 weak. 



The genus Serinus includes the majority of the birds com- 

 monly known as Canaries, or, in South Africa, as Seed-eaters ; in- 

 cluding the well-known " domestic " as well as the wild Cape Canary. 

 About twenty-two species are known, distributed over Southern 

 Europe, Western Asia, North-western India, and the greater part of 

 Africa. Eleven species occur more or less frequently in South 



