Thanks for the picture, June. The bird at my feeder did not really give me the impression of being albinistic. I would not expect an albinistic bird to have such extensive and bright yellow on it. Unfortunately, I have not seen that bird since, but am still on the lookout for it. :)
BTW, love the owl pictures on your site!
Claire Wolfe
--- On Thu, 1/15/09, June Tveekrem <> wrote:
From: June Tveekrem <>
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] unusual pine siskin in Germantown
To:
Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 6:52 PM
Pine Siskins can also be albinistic, which may explain some of the lightness on
the bird you saw. I've posted a photo of an albinistic siskin from northern
Minnesota for comparison.
http://junetvee.smugmug.com/Nature
-- June Tveekrem
Columbia, Maryland
tweekiebird|AT|southernspreadwing.com
http://SouthernSpreadwing.com
Claire Wolfe wrote:
> Today at my thistle feeder I had an unusual looking Pine Siskin. My
original impression of the bird was of a somewhat light siskin with very
extensive yellow in the wings and tail. In fact, when this bird settled down on
the feeder the yellow was clearly visible on the folded wing and tail, not just
the typical hint of yellow at the base of the flight and tail feathers. The
lightness of the bird was due to it being very faintly and diffusely striped
compared to the other siskins it was feeding with.
> Looking in my field guides I found that Sibley has a picture of what he
calls a "Yellow adult" with the comment "scarce; most frequent in
southwest". That picture is a fairly good representation of the bird I
saw, although the bird at my feeder did not have a noticeable yellow wash along
the sides as this picture depicts. I did not get a good look at the undertail
coverts to see if they were yellow as this picture shows.
> At any rate, it was an interesting bird. I live at the edge of Black
Hills Regional Park, not far from the visitor center, as the siskin flies. If
you are at Black Hills, it is worth keeping an eye out for this bird.
> Claire Wolfe
> Germantown
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