Thanks to everyone who responded to my call for help on the
mysterious Carpodacus finch. Most of the replies indicated they felt the
bird was a Cassin's. But on Saturday, my mystery finch re-appeared with two
friends, another female and a male.

The male had a face pattern that matched the female from the
original post: The supercillium (above the eye) is lighter than the top.
The auricles (around the ear) are dark brown. There is a small amount of
lighter feathers all around the auricles including a stripe from the back of
the bill down to the chest. Then there is a darker brown mustache and a
lighter chin. However, the male had red cast to the face pattern. The red
was most intense on the top of the head. There was a reddish wash all down
the back of the neck to the back. The red wash also went down the face to
the breast. I don't remember if the chest was streaked or not.

The second female was not as boldly marked as the first female and
looked very similar to the female Cassin's Finch I'm familiar with.

I did manage to take a few photos this time; hopefully they will be
sharp enough to settle the issue once and for all.

I haven't heard them call yet. They always seem to just appear
suddenly then disappear a few minutes later.

Cheers
Deb

Deb Beutler
Department of Zoology
P.O. Box 644236
Washington State University
Pullman (Whitman Co.), WA 99164-4236
dbeutler at wsunix.wsu.edu