The Ankober serin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is a small brown seedeater, about 12 centimeters or 5 inches in length with brown upperparts and its head and breast distinguished with heavy buffy-colored streaking. It is gregarious and is often encountered in flocks. Its song consists of a constant, low twitter.
Region
Ethiopian Highlands
Typical Environment
Found on steep escarpments, rocky gorges, and adjacent open slopes in the central and northern Ethiopian highlands. It favors cliff faces with scattered shrubs and grasses and forages on nearby grassy patches, road edges, and farmland margins. Roosting and nesting occur in crevices and ledges on vertical rock walls. Human disturbance, quarrying, and road expansion can fragment suitable cliff habitat.
Altitude Range
1800–3200 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Ankober serin is a small Ethiopian finch restricted to steep escarpments and rocky gorges in the central highlands. It is notably gregarious, often forming flocks that feed on seeding grasses along cliff tops and roadside verges. Nests are placed in crevices on sheer rock faces, which offer protection but make the species sensitive to cliff disturbance and quarrying. Its soft, constant twittering carries over the wind along highland slopes.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with bounding undulations
Social Behavior
Often forms small to medium-sized flocks outside the breeding season, moving together between cliff ledges and feeding sites. Pairs are likely monogamous and nest in crevices or ledges on sheer rock faces, sometimes loosely colonial where suitable sites cluster. Adults remain near cliffs year-round, with short local movements to find seeding grasses.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, constant twitter composed of thin trills and tinkling notes. Calls are delicate and can be easily masked by wind, but flocks keep contact with quiet twitters while foraging.
Plumage
Small, heavily streaked finch with brown upperparts and buffy underparts marked by strong dark streaking, especially on the head and breast. Wing feathers show pale fringes forming faint wing bars, and the rump is dull brown. The overall impression is of a neatly streaked, earth-toned seedeater.
Diet
Primarily consumes seeds of grasses and small herbs, picking them from seed heads and the ground. Will take seeds of composite plants and other weeds that flourish on disturbed slopes and road margins. Occasionally supplements diet with small invertebrates, especially during breeding for added protein.
Preferred Environment
Forages along cliff tops, rocky slopes, and grassy verges near escarpments. Frequently uses roadside embankments and lightly grazed pasture where grasses go to seed. Stays within quick flight of vertical refuge on cliffs.
