Zonotrichia hybrid?
Fri, 23 Apr 1999 9:00:31 PDT
From: Monte Tudor-Long
A few days ago, in my parents' Pleasanton yard, we saw a Zonotrichia with the following characteristics:
- Plain throat, as in a White-crowned or Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Yellow spots between the eye and the bill, as in a White-throated Sparrow
- Head stripe pattern as in a White-crowned or White-throated
Sparrow
- Stripe on the top of the head was both yellow (front half) and white (back
half)
My guess is that it was a hybrid Golden-crowned/White-throated Sparrow. Does anyone have any other ideas? Are hybrids in this genus common?
Monte Tudor-Long
Phainopepla in Hayward
23 Apr 99 09:39:43 -0700
From: Les Chibana
I got a report late yesterday, 4/22/99, from a student in my birding class, Debbi Brusco, of a male Phainopela seen in her mimosa trees in the morning. She lives in Hayward south of Hwy 580, just southwest of Don Castro Regional Recreation Area.
Her description is very good. She first heard a meadowlark-like call, similar to one that she's heard from starlings, with a downslurred "churr" at the end. Without binoculars, she noticed a bird atop her mimosa trees that had a crested Steller's Jay-like profile. It flew from the perch to flycatch and she saw white wing patches. She got her binoculars and saw that it was indeed black with red eyes. She was able to find the bird in her field guide, and she took a photo.
[She lives on Hermosa Terrace. I have eliminated the exact address for this web posting. --Larry]
Considerations for the neighborhood: She says that there are few parking spaces on this street and that there is only one way in (Hermosa Terrace is a cul-de-sac). Please don't block driveways, etc., and stay on the street/sidewalk. ... Her neighbors are watchful, so if they ask, tell them that Debbi said it was okay to look for this bird.
I am aware of the occasional sightings in Santa Clara County in the Diablo Range and the sparse historical sighting on the Peninsula. Have there been any previous records from the Bay- side of the East Bay foothills?
Les
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Les Chibana, Palo Alto
Singing Female Purple Finch?
23 Apr 99 10:11:01 -0700
From: Les Chibana
Larry Tunstall wrote:
Highlight was a female Purple Finch singing heartily while balancing precariously in the wind on the very tip-top of a conifer.
I have seen many singing Purple Finches (PUFI) that I thought were females. A birding friend mentioned that she heard that these may actually be second year (SY) males. I checked Pyle's Identification Guide for North American Passerines and, indeed, SY male PUFI can look like adult females. So, do female PUFI sing? I don't know if it's always possible to positively separate SY males and adult females in the field. Anyone know?
Les Chibana
Original Message Next Reply Subject List
Re: Singing Female Purple Finch?
Fri, 23 Apr 1999 11:22:35 -0700
From: Larry Tunstall
Les Chibana wrote:
So, do female PUFI sing? I don't know if it's always possible to positively separate SY males and adult females in the field. Anyone know?
The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds states that female House Finches do sing, but doesn't say anything on this topic for Purple Finch. I had just assumed that this characteristic would apply to both of these so-similar species. I had no reason to assume that the singing bird was a female rather than a second-year male.
Thanks for the information, Larry
Larry Tunstall
El Cerrito CA