Here in Marysville WA we receive a yellow orange House Finch quite often
at the feeder. But it has only been this year, I don't recall having seen
it around last year at all.
----------------->Kathie Webber, Marysville WA, KWebber at sno.wednet.edu

On Wed, 31 Jul 1996, Dennis Paulson wrote:

> Well, I try not to be guilty of premature exaggerations, but yesterday was
> such a day. So sorry.
>
> The "hybrid Purple X House Finch" turns out to be a very very bright House
> Finch. When we prepared the specimen, I decided a hybrid would perhaps
> show more Purple Finch characteristics (shorter tail, less striped belly)
> and looked at it again. I compared it with all of our male House Finch
> specimens, not just one trayful. I was able to arrange a series of
> specimens from the dullest, brown-backed ones through ones with increasing
> amounts of red on the upper surface to culminate in this specimen and
> another like it from California.
>
> This was a learning experience for me, as I never realized House Finches
> could be so bright, with such extensive red. None of the field guides show
> anything like this, and, indeed, a typical bird has a brown crown and red
> supercilium just as shown. Perhaps the "hybrids" that Kathleen mentioned
> were individuals like these. I'm sure that such a bird might even be
> called a Purple Finch with a poor look, but they are still (1) streaked all
> over the belly, and (2) the shape of a House Finch, with a relatively long
> tail. The bill looked big, but I found that it was within the range of
> variation of House Finches.
>
> Birds such as this species are known to vary in brightness with the amount
> and kind of carotenoid pigments in their diet, and these bright
> birds--which can occur at any time of year, so aren't a consequence of
> plumage wear--may well have a diet especially rich in carotenoids.
>
> Interestingly, although we get a lot of House Finches brought in, we
> haven't received a yellow-orange one for several years (since 1991, in
> fact). Have they disappeared from local populations? Anyone have any of
> these dull males at your feeder?
>
> I'm off for a 4-day weekend. Pray for sun over the Blue Mountains (or
> wherever you want, for that matter)!
>
> Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798
> Slater Museum of Natural History fax 206-756-3352
> University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
> Tacoma, WA 98416
>
>
>