Los Angeles, small white bird in Verdugo Mountains (1 Viewer)

[breadmaker]

Hello,

I'm wondering what this bird is. I encountered this bird around 11am on May 11th, 2024, in the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles. It was singing, and Merlin picked up a lesser goldfinch at the time, though it doesn't look like one. Perhaps this bird is leucistic?

Thanks!

 

[rkj]

It is certainly leucistic, if not a white form of an escaped cage bird. The bill seems a little thin, the wings too short, and perhaps the behavior off for a Lesser Goldfinch - they usually do not sing from quite so exposed a perch, but I do not know what it is.

 

[THE_FERN]

Looks more like a sparrow to me.

 

[Bewick]

House Finch

Do not personally agree, looked through pics of leucistic house finches and their upper and lower mandibles are usually pinkish, bill in general is more hefty as well, they are also longed winged. As mentioned by others this seems like a sparrow sp, bill is is more conish (thinner and more triangular).

Edit- Wondering about a possible leucistic rufous-crowned sparrow.

 

[Brad Hacker]

Upon reflection--yes, I agree. Particularly the tail length favors sparrow over finch.

 

[Butty]

Certainly aberrant. Bill does look buntingy or N-American-sparrowy - certainly wrong for house finch. Most mystifying I find the faint tail-barring - at first I thought fault-bars but it's too strong for that - and no N American sparrows have it? - so maybe it's a cagebird quirk.

 

[breadmaker]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts. That day I saw several rufous-crowned sparrows around that location, so that seems to make sense to me. Additionally the barring on the tail looks like this rufous-crowned sparrow here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/assets/photo/64990411-1280px.jpg