Winter Visitor
by Robert Bales
Title
Winter Visitor
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
While I was enjoying the sunshine in the Foothills, Arizona, I found this Lesser Goldfinch resting in a tree in our front yard. It is the time of year as they are enjoying the winter before they migrate back to the North from the Southwest.
This petite species is not only the smallest North American Spinus finch, it may be the smallest true finch in the world. Some sources list more subtropical Spinus species as slightly smaller on average, including the Andean siskin. This species ranges from 9 to 12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 in) in length and can weigh from 8 to 11.5 g (0.28 to 0.41 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 5.5 to 7 cm (2.2 to 2.8 in), the tail is 3.9 to 4.7 cm (1.5 to 1.9 in), the bill is 0.9 to 1.1 cm (0.35 to 0.43 in) and the tarsus is 1.1 to 1.2 cm (0.43 to 0.47 in). There is a slight NW-SE cline in size, with the largest birds from Mexico and south being up to one-fifth larger than the smallest from the extreme NW of its range; this effect is more pronounced in females. There is also considerable variation in the amount of black on head and back in males, and thus three subspecies have been proposed. But this variation too seem to be simple and clinal changes in allele frequency, and thus the "subspecies" might be better considered morphs or geographical forms.
Males are easily recognized by their bright yellow underparts and big white patches in the tail (outer rectrices) and on the wings (the base of the primaries). They range from having solid black from the back to the upper head including the ear-coverts to having these regions medium green; each of the back, crown and ear regions varies in darkness rather independently though as a rule the ears are not darker than the rest. In most of the range dark psaltria birds (Arkansas goldfinch) predominate. The light birds are termed hesperophilus and are most common in the far western U.S. and northwestern Mexico.
Jabbering clouds of yellow, green, and black Lesser Goldfinches gather in scrubby oak, cottonwood, and willow habitats of the western U.S., or visit suburban yards for seeds and water. These finches primarily eat seeds of plants in the sunflower family, and they occur all the way south to the Peruvian Andes. Listen closely to their wheezy songs, which often include snippets from the songs of other birds.
Uploaded
January 19th, 2018
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Viewed 1,796 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/17/2024 at 9:06 PM
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Comments (27)
Janet Marie
Robert! Your beautiful work has been given SPECIAL NOTICE, in the 2020 8th round of, "JANET'S JUBILATIONS!" It can be found in the NEW DISCUSSION thread, in the "BEAUTY OF ARIZONA," art group. One of 15 different artists chosen for the week of 03/16/20, with the THEME of BIRDS. I have written a note above your artwork, sharing why I chose it. Janetđź’•
Janet Marie
Congratulations! Your beautiful artwork has been featured on the Homepage of the “Beauty of Arizona” Art Group. You are welcome to submit your artwork in the discussion thread “2020 Thanks and Features Archive.” LF FB
Miroslava Jurcik
Congratulations, I have chosen your amazing work for Superfeature in Kingdom Animalia !! l/f/p
William Tasker
Beautiful image, Robert! Thank you for submitting this fine natural shot of this identified wild bird. It is now featured on the homepage of Wild Birds Of The World - A Nature Photography Group. L/F
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks, William for the feature, and the promotion!! It is greatly appreciated!!
Morris Finkelstein
Beautiful photograph of a Lesser Goldfinch with great colors and perspective, Robert! F/L
Caitlyn Grasso
Beautiful tranquil feel to this--love the bokeh and the framing! L/F/t
Robert Bales replied:
So glad you enjoyed the image and thanks so much for the nice comments and the LFT!!
Don Columbus
Congratulations Robert, your work is Featured in "Birds In Focus" I invite you to place it in the group's "2018 Featured Image Archive" Discussion!! L/Tweet
Don Columbus
Congratulations Robert, your work is Featured in "A Birding Group - Wings"! I invite you to place it in the group's "2018 Featured Image Archive" Discussion!! L/Tweet
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks Don for the congrats, wonderful feature and the inviote along with the LTw!!
Karen Beasley
Great photo! Love their colors! LF
Robert Bales replied:
So glad you enjoyed the image and thanks for the color comment along with the L:F!!