In Purple Finch yellow color is very rare, and often comes along with abnormal streaking, which may mean that it is hormonal.
#Purple finch full#
I’m not sure how we could distinguish a male from a female in these photos, given that the bird is abnormal.Īs mentioned above, yellow color is fairly common in male House Finches, with birds showing a full range of color variation from red, to orange, to yellow, but no obvious differences in plumage pattern, suggesting it involves only carotenoids and is all diet-related. The existence of “male-like females” is known in waterfowl, and those are generally assumed to be older birds that grow feathers with some male-like colors and patterns. It could be a male that was not producing enough testosterone as the new feathers grew during its last molt, or it could be a female producing a lot of testosterone. If this bird is hormonally intermediate, that could also conceivably explain the yellow color. This kind of variation in streaking (which involves melanin pigments) is usually controlled hormonally – adult males with lots of testosterone would grow breast feathers with no streaks, all other birds (females and immature males) grow feathers with broad brown streaks. This is more than a male would usually have, but far less than a typical female. On closer study I notice that it shows some thin streaking on the sides of the breast. On this bird, however, the explanation may not be that simple. Even if it gets lots of carotenoids in its diet, it will use them to fight disease and won’t have enough left to color the feathers.
The same carotenoid chemicals are also important for immune system function, so a sick bird can also show weaker color. My first thought was to call it a male that didn’t develop the full red pigment (a similar variant due to poor diet and/or poor health is fairly common in male House Finches) but the answer here may not be so simple.īirds get red and yellow pigments from carotenoid compounds in their food, so a diet that doesn’t include enough carotenoids will lead to a bird with weaker color. They show a Purple Finch with yellow color instead of red. Thanks to reader Skip Pothier for sending in these photos.
0 kommentar(er)
