Drakensberg siskin | |
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A male | |
A female at Sani Pass | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Fringillidae |
Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
Genus: | Crithagra |
Species: | C. symonsi
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Binomial name | |
Crithagra symonsi (Roberts, 1916)
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General range: the Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands | |
Synonyms | |
Serinus symonsi |
The Drakensberg siskin (Crithagra symonsi) is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the eastern Cape Province Transkei and western Natal in South Africa, and in Lesotho.
This species is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the Cape siskin (Crithagra totta) of southern Cape Province, in which case the nominate western form is C. t. totta, and the eastern form is C. t. symonsi.
This locally common but shy and unobtrusive siskin is found in the scrubby valleys and hillsides of the Drakensberg mountains.