and the Cassin's Finch on the right.
Needless to say it wasn't a typical Cassin's Finch. I have always looked for Purple Finch in Utah and began to think this individual might be a western/Pacific form of the Purple Finch. I moved to my office and set up my camera to get "better" pictures. The birds flew off but returned shortly after with the "odd-ball" continuing to feed on the ground alongside Cassin's and House Finches. The light wasn't great but I got a couple of okay shots with the flash.
I sent the pictures to ID Frontiers to get some opinions, and got mixed responses (as often with ID Frontiers)--some for and some against Purple Finch. I think the one thing that I always find amusing when I receive comments like, "I wouldn't have looked at this bird twice.." or "this is without a doubt..." or "there is no reason this isn't...". I find it amusing because why would I bother asking for opinions if there wasn't something odd about the bird. In the case of this individual it had a mixed bag of odd fieldmarks separate from the common counterpart found in Utah (Cassin's Finch). It's only when the field guides and available resources come up short that I find it valuable to get the opinions of what are an incredibly talented (mostly)group of birders.
Anyways, I am throwing these pictures and this information up here in case anyone wants to comment. I will add some comments from others below tomorrow to go along with my post.
Click here to see more photos of this bird.
Labels: finches, id challenge, rare birds
2 Comments:
I think this is a first-year male Cassin's Finch. I remember being tricked by one of these a couple of springs ago. This time of year, the young males don't yet have the red of the adults but they show this orangy-greenish tint, unlike the females which are a more pure brown and white. Here are a couple shots of a similar bird, photographed in my yard on 9 Apr 2008.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsirtalis/5551770730/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsirtalis/5551186289/
Here are a couple of links that might be helpful for this bird and any other mystery Carpodacus in Utah:
http://www.sibleyguides.com/2011/03/distinguishing-the-subspecies-of-purple-finch/
http://www.sibleyguides.com/bird-info/purple-finch/supplementary-info-on-purple-finch/
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