March
23rd, 2015. The Winter bird season is winding down fast now. The number of
American Goldfinches and Chipping Sparrows coming to the feeder has decreased
to a handful of each compared with the flocks we had a couple of weeks ago. A
few Purple Finches still come to the feeders but they’ll be off north soon as
will a few Yellow-rumped Warblers that still come by several times each day.
Pine
Siskin, left; female Purple Finch, right
The
Pine Siskins (Carduelis pinus) made their first appearance at the sunflower seed feeders in
late January this year. At first I didn’t really notice them. They’re somewhat
similar in pattern and color to, but slightly smaller than the the female
Purple Finch. In addition, the Pine Siskin lacks the distinct white ‘stripes’ above
the eye and on the cheek that are present on the female Purple Finch. Both the
Pine Siskin and the female Purple Finch have streaked breasts.
Pine
Siskin, right; American Goldfinch, left
The
Pine Siskin is about the same size as an American Goldfinch.
This
photo shows all three species. Pine Siskin, upper and lower left; American
Goldfinch, upper right; female Purple Finch, lower right.
Pine
Siskins. The bird on the right shows the cream-colored feathers that are muted
in the non-breeding season but which are much brighter in the breeding season.
The
Pine Siskins winter in this area but will fly north into Canada and New England
to breed.
It's interesting that we didn’t see any Pine Siskins last year but All About
Birds comments on the fact that these birds are nomadic and erratic in their
distribution across their wintering grounds in search of seed. Thus, the fact
that we didn’t see them last year is not unusual. I wonder, now that they know
where we live, if we will see them sooner next Winter.
No comments:
Post a Comment