Syrian serin
The Syrian serin (Serinus syriacus) is a brightly coloured small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Description The Syrian serin is prettily coloured with bright yellow and pale grey feathers. The eyes are large and are surrounded by a bright yellow ring. The beak is grey and the legs are pale pinkish-grey. It has a long trilling call and may also chirp and twitter. Distribution and habitat Syrian serins breed in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan, at altitudes of between 900 and 1,900 metres. The population in Jordan makes local movements in winter, but the birds of Lebanon, Israel and Syria migrate to wintering grounds in Egypt, Turkey and Iraq. They inhabit rocky areas with oak and conifer shrubs or trees and frequent grasslands and fields feeding mainly on the seeds of annuals and grasses. In Southwestern Jordan, its main diet during winter is the seeds of Artemisia. Phylogeny This species is phylogenetically included within the group of Serinus alario now thriving around the southern tip of Africa, together with Serinus canicollis (African distribution) and Serinus pusillus (Asian distribution) Arnaiz-Villena et al., 1999 and Arnaiz-Villena et al., 2006 Breeding Males court females with a song display, and each pair