Serinus

Serinus is a genus of small birds in the finch family Fringillidae found in Europe and Africa. The birds usually have some yellow in their plumage. The genus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch.[1][2] Its name is New Latin for "canary-yellow".[3]

"Serin" redirects here. For other topics, see Serin (disambiguation).

Serinus
Male European serin (Serinus serinus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Fringillidae
Subfamily:	Carduelinae
Genus:	Serinus Koch, 1816
Species
See text.

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.[4][5][6] 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.[7][8]

The genus contains eight species:[8]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Serinus pusillus	Red-fronted serin	Turkey and Iran
	Serinus serinus	European serin	southern and central Europe and North Africa
	Serinus syriacus	Syrian serin	Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan
	Serinus canaria	Atlantic canary	the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira
	Serinus canicollis	Cape canary	southern Africa
	Serinus flavivertex	Yellow-crowned canary	eastern Africa
	Serinus nigriceps	Ethiopian siskin	Ethiopia
	Serinus alario	Black-headed canary	Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa

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. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 208.
3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. p. 354. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
4. 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)" (PDF). Molecular Biology and Evolution. 16 (1): 2–11. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026034.
5. 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. doi:10.2989/00306520409485457.
6. 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. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.10.022. PMID 19027082.
7. 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. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002. PMID 22023825.
8. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Finches, euphonias". World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

External links

• Serin videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection