ML368310891

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Instead of RARE, there needs to be an EXOTIC option in eBird. Anyway, this bird was perched high up in bare tree at SW corner of Huntington Lake. It was obviously small, red underneath, and with a distinct whitish eye ring. The bill was conical and it appeared pale red. The wings were plain brownish lacking any other distinctive marks. It flew off into the stables. At home, I checked Simon & Schuster's Guide to Pet Birds (1984) and quickly found #44 Red-billed Firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala). The photo in that guide was a good match for this bird. However, the text describes and its illustrative photo does show some tiny white spots on the sides of the breast. My photos appear not to show these white spots (one may show tiny “pin pricks”), but my photos are heavily cropped. The Guide to the Birds of Western Africa (2001) contains several Firefinch species. All are similarly red, but most are distinguished from this one by their black undertail coverts. The Bar-breasted Firefinch (L. rufopicta) lacks black undertail coverts and also shows white spots (actually bars or crescents) on the breast sides. This Firefinch, however, lacks a contrasting eyering. The field guide describes the eyering on Red-billed Firefinch as yellow, but I called it white in the field. Looking at the photos, however, it does appear to be yellowish. Furthermore, the field guide states that the breast sides of Red-billed Firefinch are variably marked with small white spots that are sometimes absent.

Technical information

Model

DSC-RX10M4

Lens

8.8-220mm f/2.4-4.0

ISO

100

Focal length

220 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/4.0

Shutter speed

1/500 sec

Dimensions

260 pixels x 195 pixels

Original file size

21.43 KB