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More About Finches

Last week I was speculating about the possibility of an inter-species romance in my front yard -- based on a photo I took of a male Goldfinch and a female Pine Siskin apparently hanging out together.  The two species are closely related, and interbreeding, producing hybrid offspring, is known to occur (thought not very often).  The idea set me off on a small quest for information about hybridization, avian genetics and finches.  I found some interesting stuff, but not necessarily what I was looking for.  I still have a lot of questions about inter-species matches:  How do they happen?  Why do they happen?  And so on.

But, in regards to the birds in my front yard -- at least the one's I was writing about specifically -- those questions might be moot.  Because, this past weekend, I took these photos in my front yard.

This is my male Goldfinch -- looking at the molting spots on his back and neck I was pretty sure that he was the same bird I photographed last week.  He was in the Cherry tree. 





As and aside, the Cherry Tree came into bloom this weekend, and it was busy with birds.  Even the most familiar birds look fresh in that setting.

Also hanging out in the Cherry Tree was my resident House Finch.  He actually has a small part in this story, which I'll get back to later.

The House Finch couple are one of my favorites to watch, because they sing to each other.  I understand that in most songbirds species, the singing is done by the male, but the House Finches clearly sing back and forth -- even if you can only see one of them, you can hear the response of the mate each time they sing.  It is very sweet. 

Which brings us back to the Goldfinches.  The male Goldfinch and the male House Finch were frequently in view together. 


 However, I also spotted this pretty sight in the tree.  Clearly, a female Goldfinch.

Still, there have been a number of Goldfinches around this spring, and just because she's visiting the cherry tree at the same time as my mottled male doesn't mean they're an item.  Right?

But consider this:

Here we see the Male House Finch together with both Goldfinches -- and they sure do look like a couple don't they?  I observed them for quite a while this weekend, and I think it's pretty clear that the male Goldfinch has, indeed, found himself a species appropriate mate.  I wouldn't worry too much about the Pine Siskin though -- there are plenty of males of her species around for her to hook up with.

One final shot.  Even thought you can't see all four of the birds clearly here, this is both Finch Couples on the feeder together, like Couples Night Out. The female House Finch is in the back.  It seemed like they were all having a pleasant Saturday night in the front yard.

A Tale of Two Finches

This photo was the beginning of an very interesting story.  Or, maybe, several stories. One about identification, one about animal behavior, and one about how incredibly difficult it can be to find what seems like pretty simple information.  Lets start at the beginning.

 Last week, I spotted these two birds on the rail outside my living room window.  They were there for quite a while, and I was able to get plenty of photos.  I've had lots of finches around this year -- and the colorful Goldfinches stand out.  The flash of yellow in the trees always gets my attention.  When I uploaded the photos, though, I was a little baffled.  Just who is that second bird handing out with the Goldfinch?

First, I should tell you I blew the identification even on the most obvious bird.  Looking at my photos, and looking at descriptions in the birding guides, I concluded that the dark discolorations on his back were the olive coloring that is characteristic of female Goldfinches.  Strike one.

Then, I started looking at the second bird.  Well, it's not a sparrow.  It's not a female House Finch (the beak is way to small).  What is it?  There have been a lot of Pine Siskins around this year -- and you can clearly see that small beak -- so naturally I considered that.  It didn't look like any of the Pine Siskins I've seen though.  And it didn't look like any of the photos I could find in my guides or online.  So?  Finally, I decided that it must be a juvenile Siskin.  Strike two.

So I sent my photo off with my best guesses to my friend Kevin, who's the naturalist at the PAWS Wildlife Center.  And it turns out I was totally wrong.  If you look at the photos, the Goldfinch is clearly male.  He has the little black cap on his head (which always reminds me of Moe from the Three Stooges).  The dark spots are because he's molting, just coming into his full spring colors. 

And the second bird.  Well, it turns out, she's a female Pine Siskin.  Yep.  In both cases I had the species right and the specifics wrong.  I've lost count of what strike that is, but I'm probably out.

However, Kevin had a question.  Which opens up the second part of the story:  "Were these guys part of a larger flock, or were they just hanging out together?"

I don't really have the answer to that .  There has definitely been a large flock of Siskins around for the last month or so.  They're beginning to thin out a little now, but there are still plenty of them here.  And there have been a number of Goldfinches around too -- not flocks of them, but I have often seen two or three in the cherry tree at the same time, which has never happened before this spring.  But for the time I was watching them -- which must have been about half an hour -- these two were hanging out together on the rail, eating.  It was just them, and when they left, they left together.  Circumstantial evidence at best.  But it turns out that Goldfinches and Pine Siskins, being closely related, and having a tendency to intermingle, can occasionally interbreed.  "You might have an interesting inter-species romance going on in your yard," Kevin wrote. 

Well, "inter-species" is a phrase that always gets my attention.  I'm a sucker for all those photos on the web of different animals who become friends.  And I'm fascinated by the whole topic of inter-species communication.  So naturally, I love the idea of a mixed romance going on right outside my window.  I went looking for more information on the web about interbreeding in finches and hybridization in general.  Turns out, it's a very big field.  A couple of years ago, National Geographic ran an interesting article on the role that hybrids might play in evolution -- how they could actually lead to the creation of new species.  It might be much more common than scientists thought, especially among insects like butterflies.  But what I couldn't find were any photos of Goldfinch/Pine Siskin hybrids, although the possibility was mentioned in several sources.  (And I discovered interesting facts along the way -- such as:  The Goldfinch is sometimes called the "wild canary" and they have been interbred with domesticated canaries to create pet birds.)

But mostly, the topic of hybridization raised more questions  than it answered.  For instance, under what circumstances would an animal be attracted to a member of another species?  It would seems, even in closely related species, like Goldfinches and Pine Siskins, individuals of another species would lack the markers that would activate attraction.  But as the National Geographic article suggests, there could be an evolutionary advantage to occasional interbreeding -- freshening the gene pool for instance, or allowing for new kinds of adaptations.  I have to wonder if, as climate conditions continue to change and that change accelerates, we might see more of these kinds of "wild" evolutionary strategies.  It would be worth exploring.

Which brings me to the final part of the story.  I wondered whether Goldfinches and Pine Siskins were closely enough related that their offspring would be fertile.  Many species (like horses and donkeys or lions and tigers) can interbreed, but the offspring is infertile -- a mule.  And so I started looking for what I thought was a simple piece of information: how many chromosomes do Goldfinches and Pine Siskins have?  Is it the same number or different?  I assumed that in today's world, with genomes being decoded left and right, it would be a relatively easy question to answer.  I was wrong.  I couldn't find it.  The librarians I talked to couldn't find it.  And the experts haven't returned my emails.  So I don't have that "simple" fact to pass on.

If anyone out there know more about Goldfinch/Pine Siskin hybrids -- especially if you've seen photos -- or about finch genetics -- I'd love to hear from you.

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If you like Birdland West, you might also want to check out our sister blog Books and Beasts, which focuses on reviews of books about animals and related topics.  

 

Many of the original photographs featured on Birdland West are available for sale as art quality prints.  You can check out all of our offerings at http://AlexWashoe.imagekind.com.  If you see an image here that does not show up on our Imagekind site please contact me directly and I'll let you know about availability.)

Birds Do It

It seems to be Finch Spring this year around my neighborhood.  Last week I mentioned the Pine Siskins who have been all over the feeders, and the familiar House Finch couple who have been handing out.  They're always together.  But this week, a new visitor showed up, wearing his bright spring time colors.  The American Goldfinch is the state bird of Washington (and a couple of other states, I believe).  I think his little black crown makes him look like Moe from the Three Stooges.


And then:

I've never watched, let along captured mating behavior in my front yard before.  These two House Sparrows are definitely working on love, though.

Next comes nesting. This photo, taken just after the courtship, shows the male Sparrow starting to gather nest materials.  He didn't seem to be too sure what to do with them though.  




Since we had House Sparrows nests nearby last year, and several fledglings at the feeders, its very likely he's doing to be building soon.





And finally, after all that excitement, it's time to eat.

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If you like Birdland West, you might also want to check out our sister blog Books and Beasts, which focuses on reviews of books about animals and related topics.

 Many of the original photographs featured on Birdland West are available for sale as art quality prints.  You can check out all of our offerings at http://AlexWashoe.imagekind.com.  If you see an image here that does not show up on our Imagekind site please contact me directly and I'll let you know about availability.)

Familiar (but welcome) visitors

The nice weather this month has brought out a lot of activity in the yard.  I was on the deck yesterday and I noticed this couple on the feeder.  At first glance, I mistook the female for a Pine Siskin.  They've been so common this spring that I just expected to see them.  But then I caught a flash of red on the male, and when I looked closer I saw that both birds were too big to be Siskins, and they had shorter, heavier beaks.

I don't know if this is the same House Finch couple that hung around most of last summer -- or if this is perhaps the young male Finch who was also here last year.  As I understand it, House Finches often form new couples each year, so either or both of these birds could be new.  It's good to see them though.  I've added a finch feeder since last year, so we'll see if they visit that too.



Speaking of familiar faces, this handsome House Sparrow was also hanging out in the cherry tree.  There are a lot of sparrows around -- House Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and one Golden-Crowned Sparrow (that I blogged about recently).  I've noticed a lot of sparrow squabbling this year.  One day a tangle of three sparrows whirled right past my head as I was walking my dog.  Lots of excitement.

As I mentioned above, the Pine Siskins have been everywhere this year.  I got this photo of a small flock of them working the feeder.  







A friend of mine at the PAWS Wildlife Center told me that they have been seeing a lot of cases of salmonella in Pine Siskins this year.  So if you have Siskins around it's important to be very vigilant about cleaning the feeders.  Washing them out regularly with a weak (about 10%) bleach solution is ideal. 

Bewick's Wrens are infrequent visitors to my yard, and usually they move too fast for me to get a decent photo.  I caught this one hopping around yesterday though and was able to capture him before he disappeared.












Finally -- it just wouldn't be Birdland West without frequent visits from our Pigeon Friends.  Here is one of mine waiting on the roof for the dogs to go inside so he can come down and eat. 

Our dog Lulubelle loves to bark at the pigeons and seems to take great pleasure in scaring them off.  But they always return, usually as soon as she goes inside. 

 

 

 

 

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If you like Birdland West, you might also want to check out our sister blog Books and Beasts, which focuses on reviews of books about animals and related topics.

 Many of the original photographs featured on Birdland West are available for sale as art quality prints.  You can check out all of our offerings at http://AlexWashoe.imagekind.com.  If you see an image here that does not show up on our Imagekind site please contact me directly and I'll let you know about availability.)

Hawks and Hounds

Today I just have a few quick photos to share.

Recently, I wrote about the death of one of my pigeons.  By "my pigeons" of course, I mean the pigeons that hang out in my neighborhood and eat in my yard.  My naturalist friend Kevin was pretty confident that the killer was a hawk -- even though I wasn't able to get any hard evidence at the time.

Well, now I have.  This last week, after something spooked and scattered all the birds in my yard, I took this picture of the culprit, perched in a tall tree across the street.  That day he flew straight threw my yard, even pausing for a second in the cherry tree by my front deck.  Since then, we've seen him perched on the post of our front steps.  He's definitely staked out the neighborhood as his hunting grounds.  With breeding season coming, I suspect the crows are not going to be happy about that.

Earlier this month, I attended the Seattle Kennel Club Dog show, and spent several hours watching my second favorite sport -- Canine Agility.  I love watching the dogs run the course, and one -- this Afghan -- was especially striking.

 

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If you like Birdland West, you might also want to check out our sister blog Books and Beasts, which focuses on reviews of books about animals and related topics.

 Many of the original photographs featured on Birdland West are available for sale as art quality prints.  You can check out all of our offerings at http://AlexWashoe.imagekind.com.  If you see an image here that does not show up on our Imagekind site please contact me directly and I'll let you know about availability.)

Where You Least Expect Them

After a protracted struggle (it actually snowed on St. Patrick’s Day at my house!) Spring seems to be gaining the upper hand around Seattle.  The last few days have been wonderful – and I’ve gone on two long walks with my dogs this week.  Good to be out and about again.  If you go back and look at my posts from last year, you might see that I was quite enthusiastic about the prospects of winter birding.  Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to its promise – not because nature wasn’t cooperating, but because I got wrapped up in other things and let the winter pass without enough observation.  Those “other things” – including an emotionally demanding writing project, ending one business and planning another – were all important.  But I disappointed myself with my unwillingness to brave the cold and dark in search of birds.

Anna's Hummingbird

The one bright spot throughout the winter was my hummingbird feeder.  The Anna’s not only stayed all winter (through snow and storm) but there were more of them here than I’ve ever seen.  One combative little guy staked out our tree and yard as his territory and defended them bravely, but that didn’t stop others from making a run at the feeder whenever they could.

A couple of days ago, I was out on my porch with my roommate and the dogs, enjoying the novelty of sun, when I noticed a hummingbird on the feeder.  It was one of those sights that have become so common I almost passed over it.  But something didn’t seem right.  

My roommate saw it too.  “That doesn’t look like the same hummingbird,” he said.  

This hummingbird – obviously a male – was smaller, and his coloring wasn’t quite right.  I ran inside to get my camera, but by the time I got back he was gone.  I’m pretty sure he was the first Rufous Hummingbird of the new season, back just a little early from his winter in Mexico.  I will be watching for him now, and hoping to get photos.

“Look for surprises among what you take for granted” seems to be the theme so far this year.  There is no more ubiquitous bird in my neighborhood than the Black-Capped Chickadee.  I see them all the time, and as much as I love them, it’s easy sometimes to almost stop seeing them.  When I have the camera, I often think, “One more photo of a chickadee – you have thousands.”  Which is true, I do.  Still, I’ve found surprises hiding among the chickadees before.  A couple of years ago, I found Nuthatches in the chickadee flock in my yard.  So when I started seeing flashes of brown I thought that’s what it must be.

But it wasn’t.

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee

A friend who was visiting watched the feeders with me for a few minutes.  I mentioned the brown interlopers and suggested there might be nuthatches in the flock again.  He wasn’t convinced.

“Those are definitely chickadees,” he said.

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee

He was right.  The next day I started to get photos, and they were definitely chickadees.  Just not Black-Capped Chickadees.  For some reason I had the idea that Chestnut-Backed Chickadees were usually found only in the woods, not around neighborhoods or urban parks.  I was wrong about that.  I asked my naturalist friend and he assured me it was quite common for them to form mixed flocks with Black-Capped cousins in the spring and early summer.  But I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen them in my yard before.  

Pine Siskin

 The same holds true for the Pine Siskins I wrote about in an earlier post.  I’ve seen them around Seattle, but they’ve never been common in my neighborhood – until this year, when they’re everywhere.  Change, it would seem, is in the air.

Pine Siskins

So, encouraged by the new discoveries, I spent a little more time on the deck this past week, and snapped a lot of photos.  I found some familiar, but entertaining fellows – like this puffed up House Sparrow, and a much shier Song Sparrow.  But once again, it was a case of finding the unexpected among the most familiar.  When I looked through my sparrow photos, I found this.

Do you know who this is?

I had to get help with this ID, but if you said “Gold-Crowned Sparrow”, you’re right.  It’s a juvenile, born last year and almost ready to molt into his full adult plumage.  There’s no chance at all that I would have spotted him with my naked eye.  

So far this year, I’ve added four species to the yard list (Gold-Crowned Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Chestnut-Backed Chickadees, and Cooper’s Hawk) and three to my lifetime list (Snow Goose, Chestnut-Backed Chickadees and Gold-Crowned Sparrow).  

Not a bad start at all.

(And I’ll get back to that hawk very soon.) 

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If you like Birdland West, you might also want to check out our sister blog Books and Beasts, which focuses on reviews of books about animals and related topics.

(Many of the original photographs featured on Birdland West are available for sale as art quality prints.  You can check out all of our offerings at http://AlexWashoe.imagekind.com.  If you see an image here that does not show up on our Imagekind site please contact me directly and I'll let you know about availability.)