Gail Frantz has been hosting well over 100 Pine Siskins at her feeders in western Baltimore County this winter. She says the numbers are down now but there are still over a hundred. There today several of us saw one that was notable because it was so pale due to the lack of heavy streaking. This bird matched Sibley's illustration of the yellow variant which he states is "scarce; most frequent in southwest". The bird has faint blurry streaks on the breast and an extraordinary amount of yellow in the wings and tail, visible in flight or when spreading the tail. Unfortunately no one was prepared to photograph it.
Bob Ringler
Eldersburg MD
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