Had a good day today with plenty of species at Penrhiwfer / Caerlan ,on the way back I took pics of a goldfinch and it had very very little red on its face.
I have been through my other Goldfinch from here and books and they all have red on the lower face as well as the top. Any explanation would be welcome
hi rhonddaborn
It might be a deformed bird {lack of red on its face) or a youngster this year, though I think it might be a little early for youngsters at the moment.
Regards
Kathy and Dave
rhonddaborn said: Had a good day today with plenty of species at Penrhiwfer / Caerlan ,on the way back I took pics of a goldfinch and it had very very little red on its face. I have been through my other Goldfinch from here and books and they all have red on the lower face as well as the top. Any explanation would be welcome
Could be a last years late youngster, not got its full colour yet
Ray
a good laugh is better than a tonic
Hi rhondaborn
Are you sure it's not just the angle you are viewing it from. I wouldn't have noticed anything particularly unusual.
TJ
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Tony
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This was the same place last week. also all the others around the area have lots of red. He seems fat as well
It's difficult to tell with a direct head on view like this, but it still looks like a Goldfinch to me. It might be that you just can't quite see the red under the beak at this angle, or it's not got it's full red colouring yet as already suggested.
Best wishes Chris
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I have some from the side and with head turned and its clear theres no red below the beak area. I was cropping through the pics from today and thought it was odd and didnt get it at first. Maybe it is a newbie. Will keep a look out, it seemed happy and was singing and chirping away.