The Drakensberg Siskin, Serinus symonsi, is a small passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

 bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 in the finch

Finch

The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

 family

Family

In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...

. It is an endemic resident breeder in the eastern Cape Province

Cape Province

The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...

 Transkei

Transkei

The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...

 and western Natal in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, and in Lesotho

Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

. It is sometimes assigned to the genus Pseudochloroptila as Pseudochloroptila symonsi .

This species is sometimes considered to be conspecific with the Cape Siskin

Cape Siskin

The Cape Siskin, Serinus totta, is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the southern Cape Province of South Africa...

, Serinus totta of southern Cape Province, in which case the nominate western form is S. t totta, and the eastern form is S. t. symonsi.

This locally common but shy and unobtrusive siskin

Siskin

-Birds:The name siskin when referring to a bird is derived from an adaptation of the German dialect words sisschen, zeischen, which are diminuative forms of Middle High German and Middle Low German words, which are themselves apparently of Slavic origin...

 is found in the scrubby valleys and hillsides of the Drakensberg

Drakensberg

The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...

 mountains.

Description

The Drakensberg Siskin averages 13–14 cm in length. The tail has white sides, a feature which is diagnostic for both sexes, and especially visible in flight. The adult male has a faintly streaked light brown back, light brown wing coverts, rump and upper tail, and yellow underparts. The head and nape sides are yellowish grey and olive. The throat is bright yellow, but the rest of the underparts are a somewhat duller shade.

The female has similar but duller upperparts and has no yellow in the plumage. The head and underparts are buff with much fine dark brown streaks on the head and breast. The juvenile plumage is much like the female’s but with heavier streaking.

There is no range overlap with the slightly smaller Cape Siskin, which has white spots on the flight feathers and tail and more uniform upperparts.

The Drakensberg Siskin’s call is a schwee, often given in flight. and the song, like that of Cape Siskin, is a weak, pleasant warble similar to the Yellow-fronted Canary

Yellow-fronted Canary

The Yellow-fronted Canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is known elsewhere and in aviculture as the Green Singing Finch....

.

Breeding

One reason for the taxonomic uncertainty with this species is that, if it is a true siskin, it is the only one which breeds in cavities. A shallow cup nest is constructed in cracks or holes in rocks, on ledges or amongst vegetation, especially ferns. Natural hollows in trees are rarely used.

The nest is constructed by the female with fine plant material, lined with plant down and animal hair. The clutch is three or four, occasionally five, eggs, incubated by the female. She is fed by the male on the nest by regurgitation.

Feeding

The Drakensberg Siskin is seen in pairs or small flock, moving unobtrusively through bushes and scrub as it forages for seeds (including protea

Protea

Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...

s), buds and insects.