Lemon-breasted Seedeater

About the Lemon-breasted Seedeater

The lemon-breasted canary (Crithagra citrinipectus), also known as the lemon-breasted seedeater, is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savannah, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and rural gardens.

The lemon-breasted canary was identified as species in 1960 by Clancey and Lawson from a type obtained near Panda, in Inhambane Province of southern Mozambique. Research involving mitochondrial DNA analysis suggests that this species along with S. leucopygia, S. mozambicus, and S. dorsostriatus belong in a separate genus, Ochrospiza, as they have been revealed to be only distantly related to other African members of the present genus, Serinus. However, before a revision can be made, a detailed inspection of all the taxa in the current genus is necessary. Some consider this species to be a hybrid between S. atrogularis and S. mozambicus.

The lemon-breasted canary was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. The genus was therefore split and... Wikipedia →