Editing Yellow-fronted canary

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Yellow-fronted canary
| image = Yellow-fronted canary, Crithagra mozambicus, at Pilanesberg National Park, Northwest Province, South Africa (28381581952).jpg
| image_caption = <em>Crithagra mozambica</em>, [[Pilanesberg National Park]], Northwest Province, South Africa
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Crithagra mozambica'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22720181A131998999 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22720181A131998999.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Crithagra
| species = mozambica
| authority = ([[Statius Muller|Müller]], 1776)
| synonyms = ''Serinus mozambicus''
}}

The '''yellow-fronted canary''' ('''''Crithagra mozambica''''') is a small [[passerine]] [[bird]] in the [[finch]] [[family (biology)|family]]. It is sometimes known in [[aviculture]] as the '''green singing finch''' or the ‘’’green singer’’’.

This bird is a resident breeder in [[Africa]] south of the [[Sahara Desert]]. Its [[habitat (ecology)|habitat]] is open woodland and cultivation. It [[Bird nest|nest]]s in [[tree]]s, laying three or four eggs in a compact cup nest.  It has been introduced to [[Mauritius]], [[Rodrigues]], [[Réunion]], [[Assumption Island]], [[Mafia Island]], [[Puerto Rico]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Clement |first=Peter |date=2020 |title=Yellow-fronted Canary (Crithagra mozambica), version 1.0 |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/yefcan/cur/introduction#subsp |journal=Birds of the World |language=en |doi=10.2173/bow.yefcan.01 |issn=2771-3105|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and the [[Hawaiian Islands]], where it is found on western [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaii]], southeastern [[Oahu]] and [[Molokai]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hawaii Audubon Society |url=https://archive.org/details/hawaiisbirds0000hawa |title=Hawaii's Birds |date=2005 |publisher=Hawaii Audubon Society |isbn=1889708003 |edition=6th |location=Honolulu |oclc=64201016 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The yellow-fronted canary is a common, gregarious seedeater. It is 11–13&nbsp;cm in length. The adult male has a green back and brown wings and tail. The underparts and rump are yellow, and the head is yellow with a grey crown and nape and a black malar stripe. The female is similar, but with a weaker head pattern and duller underparts. Juveniles are greyer than the female, especially on the head.

Its song is a warbled ''zee-zeree-chereeo''.

== Taxonomy ==
The yellow-fronted canary was formerly placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Serinus]]'', but phylogenetic analysis using [[mitochondrial]] and [[nuclear DNA]] sequences found that genus to be [[polyphyletic]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Zuccon | first1=Dario  | last2=Prŷs-Jones | first2=Robert | last3=Rasmussen | first3=Pamela C. | last4=Ericson | first4=Per G.P. | year=2012 | title=The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=62 | issue=2 | pages=581–596 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002 | url=http://www.nrm.se/download/18.9ff3752132fdaeccb6800010935/Zuccon%20et%20al%202012.pdf | pmid=22023825}}</ref> The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the yellow-fronted canary were moved to the resurrected genus ''[[Crithagra]]'' Swainson 1827.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Swainson | first=William | author-link=William Swainson | year=1827 | title=On several forms in ornithology not hitherto defined | journal=Zoological Journal | volume=3 | page=348 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2339407 }}</ref>

=== Subspecies ===
Ten subspecies are accepted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finches, euphonias, longspurs, Thrush-tanager – IOC World Bird List |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/finches/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=www.worldbirdnames.org}}</ref> 
*''C. m. mozambica'' (Müller, 1776) - Coastal Kenya and Mafia Island (Tanzania) south to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, eastern and southeastern Botswana, and northeastern South Africa (North West and Limpopo to Free State). Nominate subspecies.
*''C. m. punctigula'' (Reichenow, 1898): Cameroon (north to Toukte, Grand Capitaine and Koum). Gray on the back of the head, with less extensive yellow markings on the forehead, and a duller yellow on the face and throat. Broad, dark eyestripe. Females have blackish spots on the chin and throat.<ref name=":0" />
*''C. m. caniceps'' (d'Orbigny, 1839): Senegal to Cameroon (south to Benue plain). Slightly less yellow on the forehead than ''C. m. mozambica.'' The yellow coloration on the head is reduced and duller, with a broad, dark eyestripe and gray coloration on the top and back of the head. The upperparts are olive-green. Similarly to ''C. m. punctigula'', females have blackish spots on the chin and throat.<ref name=":0" />
*''C. m. tando'': Gabon to north Angola and southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo; introduced to São Tomé island, São Tomé and Príncipe. Similar to ''C. m. samaliyae'', with a darker green coloration of the upperparts and a green tinge on the flanks.<ref name=":0" />
*''C. m. vansoni'': Extreme southeastern Angola and adjacent Namibia to north Botswana, south west Zambia. Paler yellow coloration, and the upperparts are less heavily streaked.<ref name=":0" />
*''C. m. barbata'': southern Chad, Central African Republic, western Sudan, western and southern South Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, southwestern Kenya, and central Tanzania. No gray coloration on the head, with a dark olive-gray eyestripe. The upperparts are a more yellowish olive-green, and the flanks are tinged green.<ref name=":0" />
*''C. m. samaliyae'': Southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to southwestern Tanzania and adjacent Zambia. Upperparts are more yellowish olive-green, with darker and heavier streaking on the back, golden-yellow underparts, and olive-green ear-coverts.<ref name=":0" />
*''C. m. grotei'': Southeastern Sudan (east of the Nile), eastern South Sudan, and western and southwestern Ethiopia. Extensive yellow on the forehead, with a grayish-olive eyestripe. The upperparts are yellow-green with some brown tinges, and the underparts are a paler yellow.<ref name=":0" />
*''C. m. gommaensis'': Eritrea and northwestern and central Ethiopia. Similar to ''C. m. barbata'', with less yellow on the forehead, and upperparts being a darker olive-green or tinged with brown.<ref name=":0" />
*''C. m. granti'' (Clancey, 1957) - Eastern South Africa (Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal south to Eastern Cape), eastern Eswatini, and southern Mozambique. Grayer mustache marking that often extends to meet gray on the neck, and the head and back are a deeper green with darker, heavier streaking. <ref name=":0" />

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Yellow-fronted canary (Crithagra mozambica granti) male Kruger.jpg|male ''C. m. granti''<br>[[Kruger National Park]]
File:Yellow-fronted canary (Crithagra mozambica granti) female Kruger.jpg|female ''C. m. granti''<br>[[South Africa]]
File:Crithagra mozambica ssp. vansoni by tjeales on iNat June 29 2023.jpg|''C. m. vansoni'' [[Botswana]]
File:C. m. mozambica by andrewdeacon on iNat Nov 24 2023.jpg|''C. m. mozambica''  South Africa
File:Yellow-fronted canary (Crithagra mozambica tando).jpg|''C. m. tando     [[São Tomé Island|São Tomé island]]''
File:Serinus mozambicus barbatus alfajú hím.jpg|''C. m. barbata''   Captive bird
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* ''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, {{ISBN|1-873403-32-1}}
* ''Finches and Sparrows'' by Clement, Harris and Davis, {{ISBN|0-7136-8017-2}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Crithagra mozambica}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline|Crithagra mozambica}}
* Yellow-fronted canary - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/869.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].

{{Taxonbar|from=Q27075822}}

[[Category:Crithagra|yellow-fronted canary]]
[[Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1776|yellow-fronted canary]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller|yellow-fronted canary]]