A friend saw 3 interesting birds last evening, in a meadow area near
Sultan. She wonders if they were indeed American Goldfinches, which was
the closest picture in the bird book (Audubon's photo bird guide). There
were two males and one female: the female was a drab greenish/yellow,
while the males were both neon-yellow, but the caps were just over the
bridge of the beak and did not go up to the crown of the head as the
photo showed. There was also a bit of white on the lower belly and on
the undertail coverts. The size was similar to a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Could the two males have been changing to mature breeding plumage? What
are the chances that the two males were the female's offspring? Thanks
in advance! --Anna Coles, Seattle, WA acoles at u.washington.edu