Hawaii: bird ID please (1 Viewer)

nartreb

Speak softly and carry a long lens

• Jan 9, 2013

• #1

Location: Kona
Season: December
Size: small (don't recall very well, but probably close to sparrow-sized)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/8...7a64cfe4a9.jpg

Hey, no IMG tags on this forum???

Dark grey back, pale belly, buff spot on breast, white beard, orange beak, sparse buff feathers on head with orange skin showing. Orange eye, white nape, pinkish-grey legs. Possible white/grey wing stripe or two when wings folded.

 

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Kratter

Well-known member

• Jan 9, 2013

• #2

It's a young Red-crested Cardinal, an introduced species

Andy

 

nartreb

Speak softly and carry a long lens

• Jan 9, 2013

• #3

Ah, I should have guessed. First bird I saw in Hawaii was an adult Paroaria.

http://www.davidalbeck.com/photos/2012/paroaria/i010.jpg

Very interesting that the skin on the head is reddish, not just the feathers. Or am I seeing tiny feathers that haven't grown out yet?

Thanks for the ID.

 

E

emupilot

Well-known member

• Jan 9, 2013

• #4

Couldn't this be a Yellow-billed Cardinal? The bill color and lack of a crest would seem to be more in line with Yellow-billed than Red-crested. Yellow-billed is well established in the Kona area of the Big Island.

 

S

stonechat1

New member

• Jan 10, 2013

• #5

emupilot said:

Couldn't this be a Yellow-billed Cardinal?[...]

Click to expand...

Even more likely.

 

bkrownd

Well-known member

• Jan 24, 2013

• #6

Definitely a yellow-billed cardinal, and there are no red-crested cardinals on Hawai'i Island.