182 FKINGILLID^i CHRYSOMITRIS 



100. Chrysomitris totta. South African Siskin. 



Loxia totta, Sparrm, Mas. Carls, i, pi. 18 (1786). 

 Fringilla totta, Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 202 (1867). 

 Chrysomitris totta, Salvin. Cat. Strickl. Coll. p. 214 (1882) ; Sharpe, 



Cat. B. M. xii, p. 231 (1888) ; Shelley, B. Afr. i, p. 19 (1896). 

 Serinus tottus, Sharpe, ed. Layard's B. S. Afr. p. 488 (1884). 



"Pietje Canarie " of the Dutch ; " Brown Canary " of the English. 



Description. Adult male. Above, chocolate-brown, the back 

 slightly mottled with darker brown ; rump olive-yellow ; upper 

 tail-coverts brown edged with dull white ; tail-feathers black tipped 

 with white ; wing-coverts uniform chocolate-brown : quills black 

 externally, brown internally, tipped with white and with a sub- 

 terminal mark of black ; crown olive-yellow, the feathers with dusky 

 centres ; a slight eyebrow olive-yellow ; lores grey ; sides of face 

 and ear-coverts grey tinged with olive ; cheeks olive-yellow streaked 

 with brown ; below olive-yellow tinged with brown on the sides, 

 flanks and thighs, the throat with a few dusky spots, sometimes 

 absent ; axillaries and under wing-coverts greyish-yellow. 



Iris brown ; bill pale brown ; legs and feet brown. 



Length 5-00 ; wing 2-80; tail 2-00 ; tarsus 0-60 ; culmen 0-40. 



Adult female. Generally of a browner tone, with less yellow in 

 the plumage ; crown like the back ; throat and upper breast grey- 

 brown tinged with yellow and spotted with dusky. 



Young. Eesemble the female. 



Distribution. Confined to Cape Colony and most abundant in 

 the south-western districts, especially near Ceres, Tulbagh, Swel- 

 lendarn and Knysna ; very common at East London according to 

 Mr. Eickard. 



Habits. Although by Dr. Sharpe separated from the Canaries 

 (Serinus), and placed with the Siskins, (Chrysomitris), this little 

 bird resembles the former in its habits, and when kept in confine- 

 ment readily interbreeds with the Cape Canary (S. canicollis.) The 

 song, although of a certain merit, does not equal that of the Cape 

 Canary in tone or quality. 



It is of somewhat local distribution, abundant in certain locali- 

 ties and quite absent from others apparently equally well adapted 

 to its habits. It may be often met with on bush-covered hillsides 

 and appears to prefer hilly to more level ground. It feeds on small 

 seeds, buds of trees and insects. The nest is placed in a bush from 

 two to four feet above the ground and is built of grass-stems, small 



