About Serinus alario (Linnaeus, 1758)
This bird species, known commonly as the black-headed canary, has a scientific name of Serinus alario (Linnaeus, 1758). It has a total body length of 12 to 15 cm. The adult male black-headed canary has rich brown upper body and tail, a white hind collar, and mostly white underparts. Its head and central breast are solidly black. The adult female is similar in overall appearance to the male, but has a dull grey head, with dark streaks across its head and upper parts, and a distinct rich brown wing bar. Juvenile black-headed canaries resemble adult females, but are paler, have streaking across the breast, and have a weaker wing bar. Damara canary, which carries the scientific name Serinus leucolaema, is often classified as a subspecies of the black-headed canary. Male Damara canaries have a noticeably different head pattern: they have a white supercilium, a white throat and foreneck paired with a black moustachial stripe. This distinct pattern means the black patch on the Damara canary's central breast is separate from the black pigmentation on its head.
