-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Hawfinch (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Malcolm Webb
- Start date
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Checked up in Svensson:
Ash grey on both these photos, so both females :t:
Ash grey on both these photos, so both females :t:
KenM
Well-known member
Ooze this geezer Svensson?
According to Guy Mountfort he wrote the monograph "The Hawfinch".
Quote " The plumage of the adult female generally shows distinguishable differences from the male's in it's less brilliant coloration, though it maintains a similar pattern. Viewed at a distance together the female appears rather "washed out and pale": the browns are slightly greyer and less rufous, particularly on the crown, sides of head and rump, and the shoulder patch is more "suffused" with brown. At close range further differences are apparant: the area of white on the tail is less extensive, the black throat patch and markings around the bill and lores are smaller; there is little, if any, purple on the secondary wing feathers and "more" (being the operative word in this case? ) grey on the outer edges of both primaries and secondaries".
Further to Mountfort's observations....my first impressions (based on pers.obs) were as Half Two's, too contrasty and bright for a female?
Last edited:
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Lars Svensson, Identification Guide to European Passerines. The "ringer's bible" :t:
KenM
Well-known member
If you ever get the chance Nutty....read Mountfort's monograph, it is a spellbinding read! Written by a man that was consumed by the species, a more comprehensive monograph would be hard to find.
Regarding bibles....I'm a devout atheist. :eek!:
KenM
Well-known member
Better to be consumed by the species than the other way round I guess
We get plenty of females as well marked as this and as far as I know the grey patch is diagnostic. The corresponding part of the wing in the male is a glossy blue/black.
Hi Torchepot,
Here's one I took in March several years ago....a bright female?
Cheers
Attachments
Torchepot
Well-known member
Hi Ken
Yes I believe so. I've been lucky enough to witness courtship feeding several times and the bird with grey wing panel has always been on the receiving end. The females are very variable - some look very washed out and some are much more like the male. They also incidentally seem to vary quite a lot in size we have one regular female monster that dwarfs all the males - she looks like a mutant puffin on the table
Cheers
Phil
Yes I believe so. I've been lucky enough to witness courtship feeding several times and the bird with grey wing panel has always been on the receiving end. The females are very variable - some look very washed out and some are much more like the male. They also incidentally seem to vary quite a lot in size we have one regular female monster that dwarfs all the males - she looks like a mutant puffin on the table
Cheers
Phil
Last edited:
KenM
Well-known member
Hi Ken
Yes I believe so. I've been lucky enough to witness courtship feeding several times and the bird with grey wing panel has always been on the recurving end. The females are very variable - some look very washed out and some are much more like the male. They also incidentally seem to vary quite a lot in size we have one regular female monster that dwarfs all the males - she looks like a mutant puffin on the table
Cheers
Phil
Very interesting!...having only seen subdued fem/imm.types, I've learnt something there.
Cheers :t:
MJB
Well-known member
You urgently need to expand your circle of acquaintances, Ken. It's a wonderful world of variety out there!
:t:MJB
Torchepot
Well-known member
Hi Ken
Your photo could hardly be called subdued :t: A very striking bird - and surely it must be an adult.
A quick Google of hawfinch images and most of the first page are males, but some of the females are very colourful.
We're very privileged to see so many at such close quarters - when I first started trying to attract them to our feeding station I adapted our seed feeders with trays which caught the overspill. This met with some success, but when I started spreading seed on an over-sized bird table they seemed much more at home. They are still super cautious though, sitting in the tops of the nearby trees for ages before they come down.
Easy to see (at least for me) how someone could become obsessive over them (just ask my wife)
Your photo could hardly be called subdued :t: A very striking bird - and surely it must be an adult.
A quick Google of hawfinch images and most of the first page are males, but some of the females are very colourful.
We're very privileged to see so many at such close quarters - when I first started trying to attract them to our feeding station I adapted our seed feeders with trays which caught the overspill. This met with some success, but when I started spreading seed on an over-sized bird table they seemed much more at home. They are still super cautious though, sitting in the tops of the nearby trees for ages before they come down.
Easy to see (at least for me) how someone could become obsessive over them (just ask my wife)
Malcolm Webb
Well-known member
Didn't realise when I asked the question that it would provoke so much discussion. Not sure whether or not I have a definitive answer, but I get the impression that the general consensus of opinion is "female". Is that right?
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Malcolm Webb
Well-known member
Thanks to you all. Very interesting and informative.
Malcolm
Malcolm
