Canário-da-terra-verdadeiro (Saffron Finch)

Description:

Approximate size: 13.5 cm. Average weight: 20 grams. Yellow-olive with darker streaks in the back and around the legs. Wings and tail olive-gray. The iris is black and the beak is horn-colored on top and bottom is yellow. The legs are pinkish. The female and young have the upper body olive brown, with dense brown striations underneath, with the feathers, tail and tarsus almost blackened. With 4-6 months of age, male offspring are already singing, and take about 18 months to acquire adult plumage.

Habitat:

Lives in dry fields, crop fields and scrub, edges of forests, savannah areas, grasslands, abandoned pastures, plantations, lawns and gardens, being more numerous in arid regions. It usually stays in flocks when not in breeding season. Lives in groups, sometimes tens of individuals. The male has a very extensive and rough singing at dawn, unlike the day singing. The courtship song is melodic and bass, accompanied by a display like a dance around the female.

Notes:

It feeds on the the seeds in the ground. It is predominantly a granivorous species (eat seeds). The format of the bill is effective at slicing and crushing the seeds, and therefore it is considered a predator and not a seed disperser. Occasionally feeds on insects. Usually attend feeders with seeds and corn grits.