Serinus syriacus

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea

Familia: Fringillidae
Subfamilia: Carduelinae
Genus: Serinus
Species: Serinus syriacus
Name

Serinus syriacus Bonaparte, 1850
Synonyms

Serinus aurifrons Tristram, 1864

Vernacular names
العربية: نعار سوري
català: Gafarró de Síria
Deutsch: Zederngirlitz
English: Syrian Serin
Esperanto: Siria kanario
español: Verdecillo sirio
français: Serin syriaque
magyar: Szír csicsörke
日本語: シリアセリン
svenska: Levantsiska
Türkçe: Suriye kanaryası

The Syrian serin (Serinus syriacus) is a brightly coloured small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

Description

The Syrian serin is prettily coloured with bright yellow and pale grey feathers. The eyes are large and are surrounded by a bright yellow ring. The beak is grey and the legs are pale pinkish-grey. It has a long trilling call, and may also chirp and twitter.
Distribution and habitat

Syrian serins breed in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, at altitudes of between 900 and 1,900 metres. The population in Jordan makes local movements in winter, but the birds of Lebanon, Israel and Syria migrate to wintering grounds in Egypt, Turkey and Iraq. They inhabit rocky areas with oak and conifer shrubs or trees and frequent grasslands and fields feeding mainly on the seeds of annuals and grasses. In Southwestern Jordan, its main diet during winter is the seeds of Artemisia.
Phylogeny

This species is phylogenetically included within the group of Serinus alario now thriving around the southern tip of Africa, together with Serinus canicollis (African distribution) and Serinus pusillus (Asian distribution) Arnaiz-Villena et al., 1999 and Arnaiz-Villena et al., 2006
Breeding

Males court females with a song display, and each pair builds a nest in a tree once the snow has begun to melt in April or May. Four pale blue, glossy eggs are laid in April and May, and the female incubates these for 12–14 days. The young fledge after just 14–16 days and the parents then move up to around 1,750 metres in July and August to produce a second clutch. When conditions allow, the pair can produce three broods. In southwest Jordan, most pairs apparently breed only once per year as suitable breeding habitat does not exist at higher elevations.
Conservation

The species is evaluated by IUCN as Vulnerable. The population is declining due to logging, livestock production and hunting.[1]
References

BirdLife International (2019). "Serinus syriacus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22720053A155618991. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22720053A155618991.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

A. Arnaiz-Villena, M. Alvarez-Tejado, V. Ruiz-del-Valle, C. García-de-la-Torre, P. Varela, M. J. Recio, S. Ferre, and J. Martinez-Laso (1999)."Rapid Radiation of Canaries (Genus Serinus)"(PDF). Mol. Biol. Evol. 16(1): 2–11.
Jorge Zamora, Juan Moscoso, Valentin Ruiz-del-Valle, Ernesto Lowy, Juan I. Serrano-Vela, Juan Ira-Cachafeiro, Antonio Arnaiz-Villena (2006)."Conjoint mitochondrial phylogenetic trees for canaries Serinus spp. and goldfinches Carduelis spp. show several specific polytomies."(PDF). Ardeola 53(1): 1-17.
Khoury, F. (1998): Habitat selection by Syrian Serin Serinus syriacus in SW Jordan. Sandgrouse 20(2): 87–93.
Khoury, F. (2000). The impact of drought conditions on the winter distribution and population of Syrian Serin Serinus syriacus in south-west Jordan. Sandgrouse 22 (1): 64–66.
Khoury, F. (2001). The breeding ecology of Syrian Serin Serinus syriacus in Jordan. Sandgrouse 23(1): 68–69.
Khoury, F. (2003). Feeding ecology of Syrian Serin Serinus syriacus in SW Jordan. Ecology of Birds (Oekologie der Voegel) 25: 5-35.