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Can anybody help ID this bird? (1 Viewer)

Ataman

Member
A yellow bird began visiting our feeders last November and has stayed to the present. The bird is about the size of a house sparrow. I cannot find this bird in any book.
Thanks,
Jake
 

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the pictures are a tad too small to make any real IDs, but i could harbor a guess.

since it's now migrating season, it could be a scarlet tanager, adult female. and believe it or, not the size of the house finch is 6" compared to the 7" of the scarlet tanager. the only problem is the wings. since we cannot get a good view of the wings, the scarlet tanager is only a well educated guess by a newb.
 
D'oh! i didn't realize it, but you said house sparrow. and i mistook it for "house finch"! my bad. anyway, here's the correct data. House sparrow is 6.25" compared to the hosue finch's 6" compared to the scarlet tanager's 7".

Hey, i was right!
 
Ataman said:
A yellow bird began visiting our feeders last November and has stayed to the present. The bird is about the size of a house sparrow. I cannot find this bird in any book.
Thanks,
Jake

I think this bird is not a native species. It is either an escapee or an stray from the Caribbean islands. It looks a bit like a Saffron Finch but lacks the orange cap, however there is great variation on the intensity of the orange (due to age, sex and subspecies). I have seen Saffron Finches for sale in pet shops in Maryland, USA. This is my guess: Saffron Finch.

Dalcio
 
i can't open the attachments - but i'd say probably not a tanager even on this small pic - scarlet tanager female would show darker wings and back/head colour, summer tanager would be better bet but still not dark enough and to my mind the bill seems too small - although it is hard to see in the pic. what's it eating at your feeder?
 
Hi Ataman,welcome to Bird Forum from the Moderators and Admin.
Any chance of a larger pic to make the ID a little easier?
 
streatham said:
...scarlet tanager female would show darker wings and back/head colour...

That's what i meant by the reference to the wings in my first post. Unless we get a good shot of the wings, it's only a well-educated guess.
 
if you look at a scarlet tanager g thang you'll note that it is darker overall than the picture of this bird even from the small pics not olive-green enough on back of neck and face - i'm going with dacol on it being a non-native.
 
streatham said:
if you look at a scarlet tanager g thang you'll note that it is darker overall than the picture of this bird even from the small pics not olive-green enough on back of neck and face - i'm going with dacol on it being a non-native.

everybody's got a different opinion. it might be a mutant American Goldfinch, for all I care!
 
my other guide shows a female scarlet tanager, and it looks exactly the same.
 
Coloring aside, the Scarlet Tanager would be way out of range in Florida. I'll have to go along with Grousemore and wait for a larger photo (these eyes have it tough even with glasses!)

Mutant Goldfinch? I like that.
 
hey, i already mentioned that the pics were too small.way back in my first post. But i stand by my ID, the scarlet tanager is often found in Florida during migration...
 
gthang said:
everybody's got a different opinion. it might be a mutant American Goldfinch, for all I care!

gthang - if you don't care why keep offering opinions - i was simply trying to point out why it might not be what you suggested - don't take things so personally!
 
oh, sorry, didn't realize what i wrote. I meant something along the lines of "i don't care what kind of bird it is, unless we get bigger pictures, it could be anything."

Must stay back, eyes hurting from squinting...
 
Appreciate all the help so far.
Here is another picture of the yellow bird this time showing the wings and back.

Jake
 

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ok, so its not a scarlet tanager.

it's some kind of finch billed bird...

maybe a painted bunting (Passerina ciris), first year female?
or maybe as the other person said, saffron finch?
 
painted buntings winter in your area, so that could be a place to start. and with the except of the adult male, all plumages are a yellowish green. with slightly darker wings.
 
gthang said:
painted buntings winter in your area, so that could be a place to start. and with the except of the adult male, all plumages are a yellowish green. with slightly darker wings.

You are probably correct. This could be a painted bunting female. It appeared on the same day we spotted a male. The male stayed for a day and continued on his journey south but this female stayed behind to feed on our feeders. Smart bird.

My wife enjoys watching this bird. She waits for the chirp of this yellowbird before adding seeds to the feeders. As soon as the seed is placed on the feeders, the yellowbird comes down, sometimes within 15 to 20 feet.

Thanks.
Jake
 
what's the chirp sound like? maybe we could identify it using the sounds.

sibley: song a sweet continuous warble; quality similar to Indigo but without repeated phrases; unbroken singsong rhythm similar to blue grosbeak. calls average slightly softer than other buntings
 
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