Shot on April 25 in the San Francisco Bay Area. There were bright yellow birds that seemed to be male lesser goldfinches around of about the same size. My guess is thus a female or immature lesser goldfinch. I understand that the female is drabber than the male in that species but this one looks really gray with only very faint yellow, so I'm doubtful. A search through Sibley for small grey birds with short tails, unmarked faces, and range including the Bay Area didn't turn up any candidates that seemed strong to me. Any ID advice would be most appreciated.
Hi Flavio..You might want to check out Lawrence's Goldfinch....females and juveniles very plain and grey...I've only ever seen this species once, so this is my guess...Paul
Flavio, This is definitely a Lesser Goldfinch, but I don't no whether it is a juvie, or a female. At my feeder, I have noticed that on females, and immature birds, each bird seems to display a different extent of yellow. I have some that are almost as bright as the males, and some that show barely a hint of yellow, like this one.
Female/immature lesser goldfinch?
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