Crithagra

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. 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.

Species

The genus was introduced in 1827 by the English ornithologist William Swainson. The type species was subsequently designated as the brimstone canary. The name comes from the classical Greek krithē for "barley" and agra for "hunting".

The genus contains 37 species:

Image	Common name	Scientific Name	Distribution
File:Crithagra rufobrunnea thomensis 212303396.jpg	Príncipe seedeater	Crithagra rufobrunnea	São Tomé and Príncipe
	São Tomé grosbeak	Crithagra concolor	São Tomé
File:African Citril - Naivasha - Kenya 06 9856 (22621619658).jpg	African citril	Crithagra citrinelloides	Ethiopia, Eritrea to western Kenya.
File:Crithagra frontalis (cropped).jpg	Western citril	Crithagra frontalis	central Africa
File:Crithagra hyposticta RWD.jpg	Southern citril	Crithagra hyposticta	South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi.
File:Crithagra capistrata 746769.jpg	Black-faced canary	Crithagra capistrata	Angola, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Zambia.
File:Papyrus Canary - Uganda MG 1468 (23040012745) (cropped).jpg	Papyrus canary	Crithagra koliensis	Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda
File:Forest Canary (Serinus scotops) facing left, side view.jpg	Forest canary	Crithagra scotops	Cameroon, Congo, and Kenya.
File:White-rumped Seedeater - Gambia (32270398890).jpg	White-rumped seedeater	Crithagra leucopygia	Sudan
File:Serinus atrogularis -Opuwo, Namibia-8.jpg	Black-throated canary	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.
	Yellow-rumped seedeater	Crithagra xanthopygia	Eritrea, Kenya and Ethiopia.
File:Reichenow's Seedeater - Kenya IMG 3223 (22418794463).jpg	Reichenow's seedeater	Crithagra reichenowi	eastern Africa
File:Arabian Serin.jpg	Arabian serin	Crithagra rothschildi	western Saudi Arabia and Yemen
	Yellow-throated seedeater	Crithagra flavigula	Ethiopia.
File:Salvadori's Serin Serinus xantholaemus, Sof Omar.jpg	Salvadori's seedeater	Crithagra xantholaema	Ethiopia.
File:Lemon-breasted canary, Crithagra citrinipectus, near Pafuri in Kruger National Park, South Africa (26265068286).jpg	Lemon-breasted canary	Crithagra citrinipectus	Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
File:Yellow-fronted canary (Crithagra mozambica tando).jpg	Yellow-fronted canary	Crithagra mozambica	Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
File:White-bellied Canary - Samburu - Kenya S4E5349 (22621674067).jpg	White-bellied canary	Crithagra dorsostriata	Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
	Ankober serin	Crithagra ankoberensis	Ethiopia
File:Yemen Serin.jpg	Yemen serin	Crithagra menachensis	Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
File:Cape Siskin, Rooi Els, South Africa.jpg	Cape siskin	Crithagra totta	South Africa.
File:Male Drakensberg Siskin 2019 01 27 10 25 20 1129cr.jpg	Drakensberg siskin	Crithagra symonsi	South Africa,
	Northern grosbeak-canary	Crithagra donaldsoni	Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.
File:Southern Grosbeak-Canary (Crithagra buchanani).jpg	Southern grosbeak-canary	Crithagra buchanani	Kenya and Tanzania.
File:Serinus flaviventris -Great Karoo, Northern Cape, South Africa -adult male-8.jpg	Yellow canary	Crithagra flaviventris	southern Africa
File:Brimstone Canary RWD1.jpg	Brimstone canary	Crithagra sulphurata	central and southern Africa.
File:Reichard's Seedeater (Serinus reichardi) (17558998772).jpg	Stripe-breasted seedeater	Crithagra striatipectus	Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
	Reichard's seedeater	Crithagra reichardi	Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania
File:Streaky-headed Seedeater (Serinus gularis).jpg	Streaky-headed seedeater	Crithagra gularis	southern Africa.
	West African seedeater	Crithagra canicapilla	Guinea, Sierra Leone, southern Mali and northern Ivory Coast across to southern Niger and northern Cameroon
File:Crithagra mennelli, Muanza, Sofala-provinsie, Birding Weto, a.jpg	Black-eared seedeater	Crithagra mennelli	Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
File:Serinus tristriatus -Ethiopia-8.jpg	Brown-rumped seedeater	Crithagra tristriata	Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.
File:White-throated canary (Crithagra albogularis crocopygia), crop.jpg	White-throated canary	Crithagra albogularis	Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa.
File:Thick-billed Seedeater.jpg	Thick-billed seedeater	Crithagra burtoni	Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
File:Streaky Seedeater, Ngorongoro Crater (8495906768).jpg	Streaky seedeater	Crithagra striolata	Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
	Yellow-browed seedeater	Crithagra whytii	Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia.
	Kipengere seedeater	Crithagra melanochroa	Tanzania
File:Crithagra leucoptera 15690336.jpg	Protea canary	Crithagra leucoptera	South Africa.