Hi Tweets

Paul Parlee writes:

(snip)
>- Male had a bright blood-red, almost triangular patch, on the top of
>the head, and a pronounced yellow beak. Beak was about the size and
>shape of a chickadee...maybe a bit more pointed, but less pointed than a
>Siskin.
>- Female had a brownish-yellow coloured beak, and darker brownish-yellow
>top of head, and some yellow in the wings not seen in the male.
>- BOTH had a primarily white breast with pronounced mottled golden brown
>on the sides and upper chest, something like a Veery.
>- The male blood-red head patch was a really deep red colour, very
>pronounced, very bright.... his most distinguishing feature.
(snip)

*Gotta* be Basic-plumaged Common Redpolls (Alternate-plumaged males have the
red suffusing the throat and upper breast as well as the forecrown).
Everything seems to point to a big redpoll year south of the boreal forests.
You might want to watch for a very pale one in among the Commons, a Hoary
Redpoll. A friend who saw a Hoary in a flock of Common Redpolls in a local
park, Jericho Park, said "it looked like a little snowball compared to the
others." I've seen only one Hoary and that in a flock of Commons on
goldenrod one brightly frigid day in London Ont, and that's about the best
informal thumbnail description I've heard.

>- They ate Niger seed from a tube feeder, with lots of other seed types
>around in feeders and freshly placed on ground.
>- Seemed comfortable with the Niger feeder and feeding with me standing
>beside them, and chickadees feeding around them.
>- Behaviour at the feeder resembled Pine Siskins. All seven were
>feeding at once on the Niger feeder without squabbling.

Very closely related to siskins, but a lot less attitude, and very happy to
feed from a niger thistle feeder. Nice birds!

Michael Price We aren't flying...we're falling with style!
Vancouver BC Canada -Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story
mprice at mindlink.net