Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis) [XC459511]
by Rapha\u00ebl Nussbaumer from Marutswa Forest, Bulwer, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (flight call, song)
Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis) [XC268475]
by Peter Boesman from Grahamstown, Western District, Eastern Cape, South Africa (song)
Subspecies
Serinus canicollis (Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)) has been split into Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis) and Yellow-crowned Canary (Serinus flavivertex), following Ryan et al. (2004), owing to significant morphological differences between males of the two taxa.
May form a superspecies with Yellow-crowned Canary (Serinus flavivertex), and previously considered conspecific.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
griseitergum Clancey, 1967 - Eastern Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique.
thompsonae Roberts, 1924 - Northern and eastern South Africa south, including western Swaziland, to eastern Free State and southern KwaZulu-Natal, and Lesotho.
canicollis (Swainson, 1838) - Southern South Africa from western Cape east to western Free State and north-eastern eastern Cape.