I'm always amazed at the differences between here and the Ithaca area. Over the years we have encountered very few yellow HOFI, probably less than a handful. Purple Finch yellowish plumes on the other hand were not at all unusual, and as Linda points out, in the drier years.
Other differences are in stopover times for a few species as compared to John Confer's data. We get month long stopovers in both migrations of Eastern White-crowned Sparrows and maybe a few days at most with Fix Sparrow while it's just the reverse with John. John --- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Rd Burdett, NY 14818 42.443508000, -76.758202000 On 2017-05-05 21:23, Kevin J. McGowan wrote: > No, the most likely explanation is that it is a young male in relatively poor > condition. The captive experiments showed that poor diet makes for more > yellow and less red birds. Those ideas apply to wild birds, as well. > Yellowish House Finches are relatively common. I usually see a few each year. > > But, since you brought up the topic. I had occasion the other day to see the > same phenomenon (I am guessing) in PURPLE Finches, which I don't think I've > ever seen before. Photos of a yellowish male coming to my feeder can be seen > at https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S35976663 [1]. > > Best, > > Kevin > > Kevin J. McGowan > Project Manager > Distance Learning in Bird Biology > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > 159 Sapsucker Woods Road > Ithaca, NY 14850 > k...@cornell.edu > 607-254-2452 > > ------------------------- > > FROM: bounce-121504884-3493...@list.cornell.edu > <bounce-121504884-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of W. Larry Hymes > <w...@cornell.edu> > SENT: Friday, May 5, 2017 4:53 PM > TO: CAYUGABIRDS-L > SUBJECT: [cayugabirds-l] Further info Yellow House Finch > > Upon reading the literature, it appears that captive house finches can > have yellow coloration because of the lack of carotenoids in their > diet. Would the most likely explanation for this particular bird be > that it escaped from captivity? > > Larry > > -- > > ================================ > W. Larry Hymes > 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 > (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu > ================================ > > -- > > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > Cayugabirds-L Subscribe, Configuration, and Leave Instructions [2] > www.northeastbirding.com > Cayugabirds-L - Subscribe, Configuration and Leave . Cayugabirds-L is an > email list (the List) focused on the discussion of birds and birding in the > Finger Lakes ... > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html [3] > > cayugabirds-l - The Mail Archive [3] > www.mail-archive.com > cayugabirds-l Thread; Date ; Earlier messages; Messages by Date 2017/04/25 > [cayugabirds-l] the colors of spring Melanie Uhlir > > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds [4] > 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html [5] > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > [6] > > eBird [6] > ebird.org > Please join us in congratulating Chris McCreedy of Tucson, Arizona, winner of > the March 2017 eBird Challenge, sponsored by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics. > > -- > -- > CAYUGABIRDS-L LIST INFO: > Welcome and Basics [7] > Rules and Information [8] > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave [2] > ARCHIVES: > The Mail Archive [3] > Surfbirds [4] > BirdingOnThe.Net [5] > PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR OBSERVATIONS TO EBIRD [6]! > -- Links: ------ [1] https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S35976663 [2] http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm [3] http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html [4] http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds [5] http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html [6] http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ [7] http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME [8] http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
