Serinus canicollis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The Cape canary (Serinus canicollis) is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in southern Africa and has been introduced to Mauritius and Réunion. It is a residential bird but shows seasonal and altitudinal movements, sometimes forming large flocks outside the breeding season.
Its habitat is fynbos, grassland and gardens, preferably in highland areas. It builds a compact cup nest in a scrub. It inhabits a variety of terrestrial habitats, from forest edges to montane areas, foraging mainly on seeds in pairs or flocks. Breeding occurs from August to February. Nest are built by females and both parents feed chicks, which typically fledge in 2-3 weeks.
The Cape canary is 11–13 cm in length. The adult male has a green back with black edging to the wing feathers wings and tail. The underparts, rump and tail sides are yellow, and the lower belly is white. The rear head and neck are grey, and the face is cinnamon. The female is similar, but with less grey on the head. The juvenile has greenish-yellow underparts with heavy brown streaking. This species is easily distinguished from the yellow-fronted canary by its lack of black face markings.
The Cape canary is a common and gregarious seed-eater. Its call is tsit-it-it, and the song is warbled goldfinch-like trills and whistles given in display flight or from a high perch. This species is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List categories, with a stable population across a large range. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Canary sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 2,935 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Canary in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against about 20% in February to May, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Canary sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Cape Canary sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 40%).
Same family: Fringillidae
The closest relatives of the Cape Canary that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (family Fringillidae, Finches, Euphonias, and Allies) are Forest Canary (about 20%), Chaffinch (about 10%) and Brimstone Canary (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Canary is recorded against all the birds logged in Table Mountain National Park (2,935 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
