[TN-Bird] Do Purple (or House) finches and American goldfinches hybridize??

I had two oddballs mixed in with ~40 Am. goldfinches last week in my driveway, 
~5 miles south of Kingston in Roane County, feeding on black oil sunflower 
seeds.

Both were goldfinch-size. 

One was a pale brownish-gray from head to the ends of its wing coverts (at 
first glance, the side view looked like a pale Savannah Sparrow, then I saw its 
high-contrast flecked breast, as high-contrast 
as a female Purple finch; head fairly drab and plain). THEN I got a load of the 
yellow, black, and off-white (pale ecru) in its primaries, rump, and tail, and 
they clearly belonged to a male Am. 
goldfinch. It had pale ecru wing bars where a male Am Goldfinch would have 
white bars.

The second looked much like a miniature female Purple finch (as described 
above) without the flashy behinder, but on the sides of its pale ecru belly, 
peeking out just below its folded wings, were 2 
very dark, nested swoops that extended almost from the leading edge of the 
folded wing to beyond the end of the wing coverts. SPECTACULAR! Reminded me of 
some of the dramatic markings one might see on 
ducks.

I've never seen anything like these two l'il fellers/fellinas. (Yes, I was 
sober!) Someone please offer a guess as to what I was seeing!

Liz Singley
Kingston TN (Roane Co.)

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