Crithagra is a genus of small passerine birds in the finch family (Fringillidae). They live in Africa and Arabia.
The species in this genus were formerly assigned to the genus Serinus, but phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic.[1] It was therefore split into two monophyletic genera. Eight species, including the European serin (Serinus serinus), were retained in Serinus, while the other species were assigned to the resurrected genus Crithagra.[2]
The genus was introduced in 1827 by the English ornithologist William John Swainson.[3] The type species was subsequently designated as the brimstone canary.[4] The name comes from the classical Greek krithē for "barley" and agra for "hunting".[5]
The genus contains 37 species:[2]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crithagra rufobrunnea | São Tomé and Príncipe | ||
| Crithagra concolor | São Tomé | ||
| Crithagra citrinelloides | Ethiopia, Eritrea to western Kenya. | ||
| Crithagra frontalis | central Africa | ||
| Crithagra hyposticta | South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi. | ||
| Crithagra capistrata | Angola, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Zambia. | ||
| Crithagra koliensis | Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda | ||
| Crithagra scotops | Cameroon, Congo, and Kenya. | ||
| Crithagra leucopygia | Sudan | ||
| Crithagra atrogularis | Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. | ||
| Crithagra xanthopygia | Eritrea, Kenya and Ethiopia. | ||
| Crithagra reichenowi | eastern Africa | ||
| Crithagra rothschildi | western Saudi Arabia and Yemen | ||
| Crithagra flavigula | Ethiopia. | ||
| Crithagra xantholaema | Ethiopia. | ||
| Crithagra citrinipectus | Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. | ||
| Crithagra mozambica | Africa south of the Sahara Desert. | ||
| Crithagra dorsostriata | Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. | ||
| Crithagra ankoberensis | Ethiopia | ||
| Crithagra menachensis | Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. | ||
| Crithagra totta | South Africa. | ||
| Crithagra symonsi | South Africa, | ||
| Crithagra donaldsoni | Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. | ||
| Crithagra buchanani | Kenya and Tanzania. | ||
| Crithagra flaviventris | southern Africa | ||
| Crithagra sulphurata | central and southern Africa. | ||
| Crithagra striatipectus[6] | Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. | ||
| Crithagra reichardi | Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania | ||
| Crithagra gularis | southern Africa. | ||
| Crithagra canicapilla | Guinea, Sierra Leone, southern Mali and northern Ivory Coast across to southern Niger and northern Cameroon | ||
| Crithagra mennelli | Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. | ||
| Crithagra tristriata | Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. | ||
| Crithagra albogularis | Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. | ||
| Crithagra burtoni | Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. | ||
| Crithagra striolata | Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. | ||
| Crithagra whytii | Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. | ||
| Crithagra melanochroa | Tanzania | ||
| Crithagra leucoptera | South Africa. | ||