[obol] Union County, OR :' a very black-backed male' LESSER GOLDFINCH
- From: "" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "AVITOURS@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
- To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:00:43 -0400 (EDT)
Birders -
Yesterday (6/25, 4:30 PM), I received a call from La Grande birder,
Michael Wiens. He had phoned to ask if the black backed subspecies of LESSER
GOLDFINCH has occurred in Oregon before, and that he had a very dark-backed
LESSER GOLDFINCH coming to his Thistle Feeder . I did not know. Marshall,
D.B., M.G. Hunter, and A.L. Contreras, Eds. 2003. Birds of Oregon: A General
Reference. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR. pg 608, states
that "Birds reported as 'black-backed' in se. Oregon could be C.p. psaltria
(Texas) or a variation in hesperophila (PNW & SW), specimens would be
necessary for confirmation. Sibley mentions that the back color of Lesser
Goldfinch varies geographically, with virtually all adult males in southern
Texas
having black backs and virtually all adult males west of Colorado and New
Mexico are gree-backed. Beadle & Rising's Tanagers, Cardinals & Finches of
the US & Canada talk about the substantial differences between the molts
of the two subspecies and thumbing through Pyle's Identification Guide to
North American Birds is a bit difficult for me to follow being that I am not
a bander and I am currently trying to gain a better understanding of molt.
I ran over to Michael's house and together we took a few photos. The best
photos can be viewed here:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18918274
In one of my other photos, white shows clearly in the tail, which may
eliminate the black-backed subspecies. This is definitely the darkest
back/auricular colored LESSER GOLDFINCH I have ever seen in Oregon. Anyone
have
any experience with dark-backed LESSER GOLDFINCHES outside of Texas?
Good birding,
- Trent Bray
The Bobolink - Linking Birders & Birds
1707 5th Street
La Grande, OR 97850
(541) 963 - 2888
avitours@xxxxxxx
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