Re: yellow house finches

When I lived in southern California in the Santa Monica Mts (Topanga Canyon)
I had purpley-red, fire-engine red, yellow, and orange House Finches at my
feeders. I have never lived anywhere else with such a wide range of
coloration. Perhaps breathing S. Cal. air accelerated their natural tendency
for chromatic mutation :-). Here in eastern WA I have only seen the common
red usually seen and an odd peach-ish color.

Regards, Joanne
Reardan (Spokane) WA
mailto: jhpowell at iea.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Patterson <celata at pacifier.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list OBOL <OBOL at BOBO.NWS.ORST.EDU>; tweeters
<tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, August 06, 2000 3:23 PM
Subject: Summer Tanager in Astoria (late report)


>I just received a photograph in the mail from Bucky Barnett
>which can be found at:
>http://columbia-pacific.interrain.org/ahscience/neotrops/bucky200007_01.jpg
>
>He called me weeks ago with what he described then as an aberrant yellow
>House Finch. His film came back and he mailed me a photograph...
>It looks to me like a first summer SUMMER TANAGER, but I'm interested
>in other opinions.
>
>The bird was at his feeder for four days in the first week of July,
>returned for two days about a week ago. He promises to call me
>if it returns again.
>
>--
>Mike Patterson Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo,
>Astoria, OR it is not enough to be persecuted
>celata at pacifier.com by an unkind establishment,
> you must also be right.
> ---Robert Park
>http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html