House finch with a forked tail? (1 Viewer)

[AJP]

House finch with a forked tail? (Pennsylvania, USA)

Today I looked out at the feeder and did a double-take. There appeared to be a male house finch with a forked tail. I grabbed my binoculars thinking he might simply be missing a tail feather but upon closer inspection the feathers seemed too angled. Just as I was focusing a titmouse chased him away.

I told my mum about this and she said he has been around for two weeks! I will try to get a picture but wondered....if indeed he is not missing a feather, is it possible its parent mated with a swallow? Do birds ever mate outside of their species?

 

[KC Foggin]

Is it possible that it is a male Purple Finch. They have a notched tail.

 

[Tiraya]

I've seen a House Sparrow with a very impressive swallow tail. I think it was trying to be a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

While Purple x House isn't impossible (?) I doubt a Finch x Hirundine would ever arise.

 

[AJP]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was more like a barn swallow shape than a notch. But I'm determined to get a picture!

Are swallows and finches close enough genetically that they might hybridize?

 

[Reuven_M]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was more like a barn swallow shape than a notch. But I'm determined to get a picture!

Are swallows and finches close enough genetically that they might hybridize?

No

 

[fugl]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was more like a barn swallow shape than a notch. But I'm determined to get a picture!

Are swallows and finches close enough genetically that they might hybridize?

No, not a chance. They're in different families.

 

[Tiraya]

Found the picture. Thought it was longer, but that's how things tend to go....

 

[njlarsen]

Plenty of birds can loose the entire tail before moulting, so maybe this is a bird that has just re-grown one pair of tail feathers. It looks a little funny when you see a tailless magpie ...

Niels

 

[AJP]

Very interesting picture of the House Sparrow. I managed to get a shot of mine. Is the consensus that he's lost a feather? They're at such a wide angle...

 

[AJP]

Got another shot where you can see some of the in-between feathers.

 

[Valéry Schollaert]

Is the consensus that he's lost a feather?

More than one!

 

[fugl]

Is the consensus that he's lost a feather?

Yep, lost the middle tail feathers for some reason.

 

[KC Foggin]

Makes for quite an interesting looking House Finch though

 

[AJP]

Good to know he's not a new variety of finch!

 

[Tiraya]

Good to know he's not a new variety of finch!

Who knows? If you bred these swallow-tailed birds on a remote desert island...after a century or two (likely longer) you might start a new race.

But it might be a problem if the feathers grew back.