Tuesday, November 9, 2010

American Goldfinch

I looked at this one for long time. In the Summer, American Goldfinches are obvious, especially males. But as winter comes, they molt and the bright colors of Summer fade into pale yellows and browns. As I see it, there isn't a lot of difference between it and a Lesser Goldfinch during this season.
I've seen more obvious American Goldfinches at Fernhill Wetlands regularly this fall. Just last week I saw some that seemed to me to be obvious. But this one is brighter yellow than those I've seen. Even so, since I don't see any white spot at the base of its primaries, I'm going to tilt the scales towards an American. If anyone disagrees, I'd love to hear why.

1 comment:

  1. Hi there... I just came across your blog via the OBOL website.. I was excited to find it.. I'm always looking for Portland-centric bird blogs to compare notes with! Great photos, thanks for sharing!

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