The Protea Canary is a brown canary with a black face, white throat, and white wing bars. It lives in South African mountain fynbos and feeds on seeds, including those of proteas.
The sexes look alike. The face and chin are black, contrasting with the white throat; two white bars show on the folded wing, and the breast and flanks are grayish.
It feeds mainly on seeds of proteas and other fynbos plants, with insects and nectar taken less often. Flocks may feed where fire has released stored seeds, while breeding occurs in mature fynbos.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.