ML166584091

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

I heard an unusual song upon stepping out of my car on Ellis Avenue. The song was a slightly uneven, buzzy trill. I can best describe it as a very rapid, slightly higher pitched and buzzier version of a House Wren song. Scanning the trees around the drain basin from which the song repeatedly came I found a very small, finch like songbird perched. It was sitting in a dead alder and was similar in size to several Scaly-breasted Munias also perched nearby in the same tree. It was considerably smaller than 2 Hooded Orioles also perched in the same tree. It was not a particularly flashy bird and I initially mistook it for a House Finch. The continuation of the song from the direction of this bird and the yellow coloration on the head and breast had me scrutinize the bird more closely. On closer observation I noticed the belly and flanks were clean white, not dingy like House Finches display. Further, the flanks were marked by crisp, wide gray-brown streaks. The face was of a similar gray-brown color and contrasted with a yellow supercilium which wrapped around the auriculars and continued under the cheek connecting to the yellow throat. My views of the upperparts were rather poor but the gray-brown back also appeared to be suffused with a yellow hue. The wings were gray-brown and had white markings either on the tertials or the coverts but owing to my poor viewing angle I could not be certain other than there was white somewhere in the middle of the wing panel. The primaries and tail were also gray-brown. Tail was notched in the center and short in length. The bill was rather small, gray, and conical like a goldfinch. In the field my overall impression was of a petite looking yellow version of a Purple Finch but the song was definitely not anything I was familiar with. My impression was the bird was a Eurasian goldfinch species but I was uncertain as to type. Returning home I did a little research and checked recordings on Xeno Canto and found I had encountered a European Serin. Presumably an escaped cage bird. It is not the first unusual exotic I've encountered in the park (e.g. European Goldfinch). There were also quite a few exotics moving about the park this morning. For unknown reasons the ornamental grasses planted on the slopes of the park appear to be a major draw for exotic seed eaters.

Technical information

Model

E-510

ISO

100

Focal length

500 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/400 sec

Dimensions

1200 pixels x 900 pixels

Original file size

259.29 KB