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unknown finch--help needed (1 Viewer)

Surreybirder

Ken Noble
A correspondent sent me a pic of a bird in his garden in S. Wales which he cannot ID. (Nor can I.)
I presume it's an escape, but does anyone know what it is?
He wrote

If it helps - we live in an urban area in South Wales, less than 200 yards from the M4 motorway. We have a small garden which is mostly lawn, and there are conifers separating our garden from our neighbours. We also have a number of trees that I know as "tree of heaven". I don't know the proper name. My wife puts out all sorts of food for the birds, mainly a proprietary mix called "Field Fayre - Wild Bird Food", and household scraps. We also have peanuts in a cage. We see a large number of sparrows, often 30-50 at a time, occasional starlings, and half-a-dozen doves. Today we also have a robin.

Pic follows:
 

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What an unusual bird! The red on the front of the face made me think immediately of Goldfinch...but the rest of it doesn't look right somehow! Did it have any rings on it's legs...not visible in the photo? Could it be some sort of escaped cage bird...don't aviculturists often cross the various species of finch??? When I used to work in a petshop we used to get "Cage and Aviary Birds" each week and i'm sure i remember seeing photos of Goldfinch X Greenfinch hybrids etc (and various other species crossed together).
Or perhaps it's just a young Goldfinch.....and i'm going to look a right dude!!!!
 
I'd agree with a cagebird breeder's Goldfinch x Greenfinch hybrid, maybe with a bit of domestic Canary thrown in to get the whites & pale yellows. Definitely an escape!

Michael
 
Oh, THANK YOU Michael....I don't have to hang my head in shame and I can go to the next Club meeting with my reputation intact!
 
I'm not sure why a Goldfinch hybrid would result in orange colouration on the supercillium behind the eye where Goldfinch has none or why either Greenfinch or Goldfinch would produce a bird with flank streaking like this.

Don't know what it is though.

Spud
 
I don't think so, David. The bird looked exactly the same from the other side and I doubt if staining would be symetrical. (But I must admit that that was my first thought, too.)
 
I think this is may actually have far more Canary (Serinus canaria) in it than anyhting else and might even be a pure Canary of one of the colourful domesticated varieties.

Spud
 
Hi all,

Some breeders will cross british finches with the domestic canary to produce birds known as "mules". These birds are reputed to be outstanding songsters. The exact parentage of this individual will probably remain a mystery!

Regards

Ken
 
With regards to the finch in question,
My Grandad had a Goldfinch,Canary-Mule, it was a great singer,but had the very same characteristics, of the face of the bird above, however, the bill in above picture seems too chunky and the shape of this bird seems, rather stout, leading to my conclusion that there is some greenfinch attributes.There is so many types of domestic bred canaries, that maybe it would be too premature to discount a canary connection, However i think it is correct to presume it is an ecaped cagebird.
 
To me , this seems to be goldfinch x canary. Probably the canary was a yellowish individual. Those hybrids are said to be sterile and therefore referred to as mule birds.
In the about 15 hybrids I have seen in pet shops, often the streaking pattern of canary wild form occurred, together with a head pattern reminding of goldfinch, but always with orange instead of red (probably because the canary parents were allways yellow, that combination was said to look particularly nice)

Joern
 
Joern, thanks ,
I think you are right, the streaking was apparant on every goldfinch canary x that I have seen, and i'm having second thoughts about a greenfinch connection,as well as the orange face,However is it me or does the unidentified finch (above)have quite a dumpy bill and stout viz which are characteristics of a Greenfinch.You are right the streaking is almost certainly canary though. Most breeders tend to cross Goldfinch Males with Female Canaries. Most Canaries they cross are green rather than yellow,as a darker individual would more likely get better marks in competiton, and this photo looks more yellowish than any I have seen, so you could be right.
When all is said and done I Prefer to see Birds in the wild, not caged for breeders to take to shows.
 
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