Cuckoo-shrike
Well-known member
There have recently been two Serins on the nature reserve I help to manage here in Cornwall (Darrell - I did notify CBWPS!). It's been very rewarding as they have been feeding on the seeds of kale which, along with other crops, we planted specifically for finches and buntings.
One was clearly a male, having a bright yellow breast, forehead, supercilium, face-patch, nape and rump. The other was also yellow in the same places, but duller. The illustrations and descriptions of female Serin in the Collins guide, Jonsson's Birds of Europe and Concise BWP are at some variance.
The bird in the Collins guide is yellow, much less bright than the male shown, but this is described as a dull bird. A brighter "variation" is pictured alongside.
Jonsson's bird is much duller than Collins' dull example. The pale band around the ear-coverts is only faintly tinged yellow. Our duller bird was fairly bright here.
Concise BWP states, somewhat confusingly, that the female is "only dull yellow on face". The illustration however shows a bird similar to the Collins dull one. There is also an adult winter male shown, which most resembles our bird. Our obvious male was as bright as the summer male shown in BWP.
The only thing that the all the illustrations seem to agree on is the more extensive breast streaking on the females. I didn't notice this on our bird but I didn't get such good views of it. I went down today to try and resolve it, but it looks like they've moved on, probably as a result of the colder weather of the last couple of days.
On plumage I'm inclined to think they were both males, yet they behaved like a pair, frequently calling to each other, perching in the hedge together and chasing one another in flight, even when in a throng of 100+ Chaffinches. There were a couple of subdued snatches of song too, but from which one I don't know.
What does the team think?
One was clearly a male, having a bright yellow breast, forehead, supercilium, face-patch, nape and rump. The other was also yellow in the same places, but duller. The illustrations and descriptions of female Serin in the Collins guide, Jonsson's Birds of Europe and Concise BWP are at some variance.
The bird in the Collins guide is yellow, much less bright than the male shown, but this is described as a dull bird. A brighter "variation" is pictured alongside.
Jonsson's bird is much duller than Collins' dull example. The pale band around the ear-coverts is only faintly tinged yellow. Our duller bird was fairly bright here.
Concise BWP states, somewhat confusingly, that the female is "only dull yellow on face". The illustration however shows a bird similar to the Collins dull one. There is also an adult winter male shown, which most resembles our bird. Our obvious male was as bright as the summer male shown in BWP.
The only thing that the all the illustrations seem to agree on is the more extensive breast streaking on the females. I didn't notice this on our bird but I didn't get such good views of it. I went down today to try and resolve it, but it looks like they've moved on, probably as a result of the colder weather of the last couple of days.
On plumage I'm inclined to think they were both males, yet they behaved like a pair, frequently calling to each other, perching in the hedge together and chasing one another in flight, even when in a throng of 100+ Chaffinches. There were a couple of subdued snatches of song too, but from which one I don't know.
What does the team think?
