Finch/Bunting (1 Viewer)

[Pete Robberts]

seen today.totaly stumped.Plain brown in colour didnt have any head markings.Yellow area in primaries.

 

[Jane Turner]

I'm guessing that this is a hybrid finch. Greenfinch being one parent and possibly Linnet the other.

 

[CAU]

I would say just a Greenfinch.

 

[Hotspur]

Im agreed with Jane, Linnet x Greenfinch. Not many Greeninches have white around their tails.

 

[CAU]

These ones do:
http://www.tarsiger.com/images/karainio/CarchladF23092004_8.jpg
http://www.lintukuva.fi/lajikuvat/carchl/1carchl001i.jpg
http://www.tarsiger.com/images/digimies/20040926_MG_0305.jpg

Actually, I think it's quite typical...

 

[Jane Turner]

Legs look a little slim for a Greenfinch don't they?

 

[Gentoo]

I'd say it looks like smallish Greenfinch but a pure one nonetheless. I used to raise these and they can come out quite variable at times.

 

[CAU]

Legs look a little slim for a Greenfinch don't they?

I agree that the legs look a bit slim, but wouldn't exclude Greenfinch only due to that. Here's a Greenfinch with almost equally slim looking legs:

http://www.lintukuva.fi/lajikuvat/kuvahtml/6carchl215.html

Are hybrids between Greenfinch and Linnet common in Britain? I've never heard of one been seen in the wild in Finland, although both species are common here. Based on the pictures I cannot exclude one, but just thinks that a pure Greenfinch is much more probable (especially when nothing points towards a hybrid, at least IMHO...).

 

[Jane Turner]

I can see some really warm brown tones and some odd head markings too, though admittedly they are not the clearest pics. I'd also assumed that the observer knows his Greenfinch!

Finch hybrids are frequent in captivity.

 

[bitterntwisted]

Breeding 'mules' is another curious British Victorian tradition, CAU, which still has a small but dedicated band of enthusiasts - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule_(bird)

As for the subject bird, I can't tell.

Graham

 

[Jane Turner]

Escaped hybrid finches are not uncommon as ID forum questions - here are a few, all but one from this year.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=89296&highlight=mule
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=91678&highlight=mule
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=80754&highlight=mule
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=79741&highlight=mule
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=8683&highlight=mule

 

[KnockerNorton]

I cannot see any reason why this isn't a 1st year Greenfinch, probably female. They can be surprisingly brown, and seeing as the light isn't good that's probably masking any green tones. The leg looks slim because you're looking at it end-on from the back of the tarsi, which is thinner than the side view.

The silhouette alone just screams Greenfinch, and nothing else. That's a classic greenie head if ever I saw one.

 

[BobTag]

I cannot see any reason why this isn't a 1st year Greenfinch, probably female.

Me neither - unless I'm missing something fundermental here, it's a Greenfinch...

 

[aeshna5]

Me neither - unless I'm missing something fundermental here, it's a Greenfinch...

Agree- can't see anything that suggests hybrid to me!

 

[nickderry]

plumage wise, it looks a lot like a linnet x greenfinch mule, but these mules also look a lot like greenfinches, just perhaps more streaking on the back and a stronger malar stripe , but these mules also have a much thinner bill than the subject bird. I'd go for greenfinch on this one, a well-marked first winter bird.

 

[Jane Turner]

It was the bill of this bird that most put me off - more the colour than the weight though. Looks almost black to me - certainly not pale like the legs.

 

[baggy2508]

Definitely a Greenfinch.

 

[John Cantelo]

I'm a little surprised that this one has generated quite so much discussion in as much as to me it was always just a 1st year Greenfinch - maybe a little browner than the average, but really not that out of the ordinary. It's another example of how - contra to what many seem to believe - some birds can be much easier to ID in the field than in photos!

John

 

[Lucky Birder]

It seems to me that id'ing birds from photos is a skill all on its own.

 

[chowchilla]

It seems to me that id'ing birds from photos is a skill all on its own.

Agreed. I was convinced initially that I could clearly see an Intermediate Egret in the Egret thread (although the flight shots said Great to me, which made me think it was a different bird). The majority on the thread decided it was a Great.

Now... I see Greats every day, occasionally hundreds, and usually a few dozen Intermediates a week. I don't need to see them together, they are usually easy to separate with a half decent view, and yet I still misidentified the bird in the pics, it would seem.

Totally different ball game, this photos lark unless the pic is really clear (and sometimes it can cause problems even then!)