[obol] Unusual SF bid

[Dan Gleason]

Jordan,

Thanks for the link. The images here are easier to enlarge to see  
details.

This bird is something of a puzzle but by closely looking at the  
images from this site, my best guess is that this is an escaped  
canary. While the wild Canary is yellow, many variants have been bred  
and are available in pet stores. Here are my thoughts:

The bird is at a feeder with mixed seed containing millet and other  
small seeds. Tanagers are insectivores and, while they do eat some  
fruits, it is very unlikely that one would be found at a feeder and  
certainly not eating these small seeds. The tail is much too short  
for a tanager and the bill is not heavy or long enough. (As a side  
note, many Western Tanagers that show red smudges around the face may  
be older females with increased levels of androgens. Higher levels of  
these male hormones will cause plumage patterns similar to males.)

The bird in question also does not have a bill like a tanager but  
rather, it is short and conical and much more pointed at its tip.  
Also, a tanager should show darker wings and tail. Judging from the  
size of this bird in relation to the feeder, it looks to be more the  
size of a finch.

Another thought that occurred to me when I saw the first photos was  
the possibility (although, very remote) of a subspecies of Yellow  
Warbler referred to as "Mangrove Warbler". The Mangrove Warbler is a  
complex of subspecies of Yellow Warbler, most of which have all  
reddish heads (More extensive than on this bird except during molt).  
It is found along the coast of Central America and northern South  
America and is completely sedentary, so it is very unlikely to reach  
as far north as San Fransisco. Many people suggest it should be  
separated from the northern groups of Yellow Warbler as they differ  
in habits and habitats from the Yellow Warbler subspecies of North  
America. When I looked more closely at the photos from the website,  
it is easy to rule out this possibility. The beak of this bird is  
clearly not warbler-like.

Perhaps others have some different thoughts about what this bird is,  
but for the moment, I will suggest that it is an escaped cage bird,  
most likely some variation of canary.

Dan Gleason
-------------
Dan Gleason
dan-gleason at comcast.net
541 345-0450


On Apr 30, 2007, at 10:56 PM, Jordan Epstein wrote:

> Dan,
>
>             Here is the website where the pictures are located.   
> I’ll try to find out if there are higher resolution images or if  
> the viewer can say the approximate size of the bird.  http:// 
> albums.photoshow.net/Show?id=1038430-ausejftv
>
>
>
> Jordan
>
> ---------
>
> To all you photo experts out there,
>
> While soliciting a pledge for the upcoming Portland Audubon  
> Birdathon from a friend in San Francisco, he sent me, with his  
> pledge, pictures of a bird that’s been showing up at his feeder.   
> I’m attaching the pictures because I’m not sure of the id.  He and  
> I thought it was probably an immature male western tanager.  But it  
> lacks any kind of wing bar so I was wondering if it could be a non- 
> breeding male western tanager or some other kind of tanager.  I’ve  
> looked through a number of images on the web and I haven’t been  
> able to find anything that matches this particular bird.  Any  
> thoughts?
>
> Jordan Epstein
>
> Southwest Portland
>
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