Serinus is a genus of small finch-like birds found in West Asia, Europe, and Africa, typically featuring yellow plumage. Introduced in 1816 by Carl Ludwig Koch, the name means “canary-yellow” in Neo-Latin. Genetic studies revealed that the genus was polyphyletic, leading to a 2012 proposal by Dario Zuccon and colleagues to split it into two monophyletic groups. The genus Serinus was narrowed to include the European serin and seven other species, while a larger clade from Africa and Arabia was assigned to the resurrected genus Crithagra.
