CreatureData

Black-headed canary

Serinus alario (Linnaeus, 1758)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The black-headed canary (Serinus alario) is a species in the family Fringillidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 11 g to 12.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black-headed canary (Serinus alario)
Photo: Alan Manson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black-headed canary

Weight
11 g – 12.2 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.8src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the black-headed canary live?

Not recorded

What is the black-headed canary?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black-headed canary (Serinus alario) is a species of finch found in Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. It is sometimes placed in the genus Alario as Alario alario

Its habitat is dry open scrub and grassland, the edges of cultivation and suburban gardens.

From the Wikipedia article “Black-headed canary” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-headed_canary&oldid=1314048085), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black-headed canary endangered?

The black-headed canary is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the black-headed canary classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyFringillidae
  6. genusSerinus
  7. SpeciesSerinus alario (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Alario alario, Alario alario alario, Crithagra alario alario, Crithagra ruficauda, Emberiza alario, Fringilla alario

Other names and names in other languages (39)
  • BHCAEnglish
  • Blackheaded canaryEnglish
  • SwartkopkanarieAfrikaans
  • كناري أسود الرأسArabic
  • Черноглаво канарчеBulgarian
  • gafarró alarioCatalan
  • zvonohlík alarioCzech
  • caneri pendduWelsh
  • AlariosiskenDanish
  • AlariogirlitzGerman
  • Alario-GirlitzGerman
  • Alaria kanarioEsperanto
  • nigrakapa serinoEsperanto
  • Serín alarioSpanish
  • ruskevintEstonian
  • mustahuppuhemppoFinnish
  • Serin alarioFrench
  • Serin à tête noireFrench
  • riđoleđa žutaricaCroatian
  • feketefejű kanáriHungarian
  • AlarioItalian
  • Canarino testaneraItalian
  • クリチャヒワJapanese
  • juodagalvis svilikėlisLithuanian
  • AlariokanarieDutch
  • svarthodeiriskNorwegian
  • afrokulczyk rdzawogrzbietyPolish
  • canário-alarioPortuguese
  • canário-alárioPortuguese
  • canário-tricolorPortuguese
  • Трёхцветный вьюрокRussian
  • Черноголовый канареечный вьюрокRussian
  • Канареечный вьюрок-алариоRussian
  • kanárik alarioSlovak
  • karroosiskaSwedish
  • Alaca İsketeTurkish
  • аларіоUkrainian
  • 黑头丝雀Chinese
  • 黑頭絲雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black-headed canary

Other species in the same genus Serinus.

LC, Least Concern
Cape canary (Serinus canicollis)

Cape canary

Serinus canicollis

Fringillidae

CompareBlack-headed canary vs Atlantic canaryBlack-headed canary vs European serinBlack-headed canary vs Red-fronted serinBlack-headed canary vs Syrian serin

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black-headed canary?

An adult black-headed canary weighs 11 g – 12.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black-headed canary endangered?

The black-headed canary is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the black-headed canary?

The black-headed canary (Serinus alario) belongs to the family Fringillidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black-headed canary (Serinus alario). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-canary

MLA

“Black-headed canary (Serinus alario).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-canary.

BibTeX
@misc{black_headed_canary_2026,
  title = {Black-headed canary (Serinus alario)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-canary},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}