[Ptarmi]

I noticed that this Goldfinch, in my Co. Antrim garden this morning, clearly had a yellow ring on his right leg.

Can the layman learn anything from the colour?

Is it always the right leg ringers use?

When we spot a bird like this, that is clearly ringed, is there anywhere we should record this information?

Cheers,
Dick

[PhilW]

There doesn't appear to be metal ring on either leg suggesting this is a Goldfinch that has been bred in
captivity (or illegally caught) and marked with a colour ring. There have been several reports of these by ringers recently and we caught one on Hilbre a couple of years ago.

[stonechat1]

Hi Dick,
I don´t think that it´s a regulary banded bird, I miss the metall ring on it. It only looks as a color ring which pet lovers use to differ their birds. Note also that the goldie is missing the most part of it´s inner claw on the right foot. Sure an ex-captive bird.

Regards,
Roman

[stonechat1]

Originally Posted by PhilW

There doesn't appear to be metal ring on either leg suggesting this is a Goldfinch that has been bred in
captivity (or illegally caught) and marked with a colour ring. [...]

I wonder, how can you exclude it? I know for instance that boys caught birds and "ringed" them to see if they are revisiting the feeding station (but that´s 20 years ago).
Note also that breeders sometimes use wrong metal rings if they aren´t familar with the species or the proper ring size. And to avoid harm to the bird in such case metals rings are dislodged. Either with special scissors or with a circular saw wich use vets mostly.

[LowellMills]

Agree with PhilW and Stonechat1.

[Ptarmi]

If you checkout the NIBirds Blog, you'll see that a Goldfinch, also with a Yellow Ring on its right leg, was snapped in Muff, Donegal last Sunday, the day before I took the photo of mine, in my North Antrim garden. .... N.B. A distance of appx 50 Miles

So could this be the same bird?

NI Birds Blog

Cheers,
Dick

[stonechat1]

As it is allready mentioned in the blog. When a ringer, working in a ringing scheme, is ringing a bird with color bands then he/she will aplly a metal ring too. How can you differ birds when even the color ring doesn´t have any code on it!?
The situation is of course different when using coded color bands like on geese and swans (which I can oberve regulary here). But I think even then they get banded with a metal ring.

Regards,
Roman

[LowellMills]

While I agree with Stonechat1, the direct answer to your question, Ptarmi, is, "there is always a chance." Unfortunately a yellow ring alone can't prove they're the same bird, especially if a charm of Goldies have escaped an aviary in which more than one is carrying a yellow ring!