Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 7, 2026

Serinus

Serinus is a genus of small birds in the finch family Fringillidae found in West Asia, Europe and Africa. The birds usually have some yellow in their plumage.

Last revised
Jun 7, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
Length
609 w
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Wikipedia ↗
Serinus
Male European serin (Serinus serinus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Serinus
Koch, 1816
Type species
Serinus hortulanus Koch, 1816=Fringilus serinus Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text.

A male Atlantic Canary in Parque Rural del Nublo, Gran Canaria, Spain. source ↗

Serinus is a genus of small birds in the finch family Fringillidae found in West Asia, Europe and Africa. The birds usually have some yellow in their plumage.

Taxonomy

The genus Serinus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch to accommodate a single species, Serinus hortulanus Koch.12 This is a junior synonym of Fringilus serinus Linnaeus, the European serin and becomes the type species by monotypy.34 The genus name is Neo-Latin for "canary-yellow".5

Many species were at one time assigned to the genus but it became clear from phylogenetic studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences that the genus was polyphyletic.678 This was confirmed by Dario Zuccon and coworkers in a comprehensive study of the finch family published in 2012. The authors suggested splitting the genus into two monophyletic groups, a proposal that was accepted by the International Ornithologists' Union. The genus Serinus was restricted to the European serin and seven other species while a larger clade from Africa and Arabia was assigned to the resurrected genus Crithagra.910

The genus contains eight species:10

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Serinus pusillus Red-fronted serin Alpide belt from Anatolia to western Himalayas
Serinus serinus European serin southern and central Europe and North Africa
Serinus syriacus Syrian serin Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia
Serinus canaria Atlantic canary the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira
Serinus canicollis Cape canary southern Africa
Serinus flavivertex Yellow-crowned canary eastern Africa and Angola
Serinus nigriceps Ethiopian siskin Ethiopia
Serinus alario Black-headed canary Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa
References

References

  1. Koch, Carl Ludwig (1816). System der baierischen Zoologie, Volume 1 (in German). Nürnberg. p. 228.
  2. Paynter, Raymond A. Jnr., ed. (1968). Check-list of birds of the world, Volume 14. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 208.
  3. Paynter, Raymond A. Jnr., ed. (1968). Check-list of birds of the world, Volume 14. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 208.
  4. Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (PDF). Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 334. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
  5. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. p. 354. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. Arnaiz-Villena, A.; Alvarez-Tejado, M.; Ruiz-del-Valle, V.; García-de-la-Torre, C.; Varela, P.; Recio, M.; Ferre, S.; Martinez-Laso, J. (1999). "Rapid Radiation of Canaries (Genus Serinus)". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 16 (1): 2–11. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026034.
  7. Ryan, P.G.; Wright, D.; Oatley, G.; Wakeling, J.; Cohen, C.; Nowell, T.L.; Bowie, R.C.K.; Ward, V.; Crowe, T.M. (2004). "Systematics of Serinus canaries and the status of Cape and Yellow-crowned Canaries inferred from mtDNA and morphology". Ostrich. 75 (4): 288–294. Bibcode:2004Ostri..75..288R. doi:10.2989/00306520409485457. S2CID 84396955.
  8. Nguembock, B.; Fjeldså, J.; Couloux, A.; Pasquet, E. (2009). "Molecular phylogeny of Carduelinae (Aves, Passeriformes, Fringillidae) proves polyphyletic origin of the genera Serinus and Carduelis and suggests redefined generic limits". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 51 (2): 169–181. Bibcode:2009MolPE..51..169N. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.10.022. PMID 19027082.
  9. Zuccon, Dario; Prŷs-Jones, Robert; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62 (2): 581–596. Bibcode:2012MolPE..62..581Z. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002. PMID 22023825. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  10. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Finches, euphonias". World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
External links