CreatureData

Papyrus canary

Crithagra koliensis (C. H. B. Grant & Mackworth-Praed, 1952)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The papyrus canary (Crithagra koliensis) is a species in the family Fringillidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 13.3 g to 14.4 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Papyrus canary (Crithagra koliensis)
Photo: Francesco Veronesi from Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the papyrus canary

Weight
13.3 g – 14.4 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
1.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the papyrus canary live?

Not recorded

What is the papyrus canary?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The papyrus canary (Crithagra koliensis), also known as Van Someren's canary, is a species of passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

It is found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. It is found primarily in papyrus stands at altitudes of between 900 and 1,600 m (2,950 and 5,250 ft), but is also found in cultivation near highland papyrus. It always builds its nests in papyrus stands, using papyrus leaves as the main material.

The papyrus canary was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the papyrus canary were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.

From the Wikipedia article “Papyrus canary” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Papyrus_canary&oldid=1355101092), 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 papyrus canary endangered?

The papyrus 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. What the categories mean.

How is the papyrus canary classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyFringillidae
  6. genusCrithagra
  7. SpeciesCrithagra koliensis (C. H. B. Grant & Mackworth-Praed, 1952)

Synonyms Dendrospiza koliensis, Serinus capistratus koliensis, Serinus kiliensis, Serinus koliensis

Other names and names in other languages (33)
  • PACAEnglish
  • رقاح البرديArabic
  • كناري البرديArabic
  • gafarró dels papirsCatalan
  • zvonohlík papyrusovýCzech
  • caneri papyrwsWelsh
  • PapyrussiskenDanish
  • PapyrusgirlitzGerman
  • papirusa serinoEsperanto
  • Serín de los papirosSpanish
  • papüüruse-koldvintEstonian
  • papyrushemppoFinnish
  • Serin du KoliFrench
  • Crithagre du KoliFrench
  • Serin de Van SomerenFrench
  • papirusova žutaricaCroatian
  • papirusz csicsörkeHungarian
  • Canarino dei papiriItalian
  • Canarino di Van SomerenItalian
  • ヌマカナリアJapanese
  • papirusinis svilikėlisLithuanian
  • PapyruskanarieDutch
  • papyrusiriskNorwegian
  • afrokulczyk papirusowyPolish
  • canário-dos-papirosPortuguese
  • Папирусовый канареечникRussian
  • Папирусовый канареечный вьюрокRussian
  • kanárik šachorovýSlovak
  • papyrussiskaSwedish
  • Papirüs İsketesiTurkish
  • щедрик папірусовийUkrainian
  • 乌干达丝雀Chinese
  • 烏干達絲雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the papyrus canary

Other species in the same genus Crithagra.

ComparePapyrus canary vs Yellow-fronted canaryPapyrus canary vs Yellow canaryPapyrus canary vs Black-throated canaryPapyrus canary vs Drakensberg siskin

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the papyrus canary?

An adult papyrus canary weighs 13.3 g – 14.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the papyrus canary endangered?

The papyrus 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 papyrus canary?

The papyrus canary (Crithagra koliensis) 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). Papyrus canary (Crithagra koliensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/papyrus-canary

MLA

“Papyrus canary (Crithagra koliensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/papyrus-canary.

BibTeX
@misc{papyrus_canary_2026,
  title = {Papyrus canary (Crithagra koliensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/papyrus-canary},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}