OK, what is this??

[John C. Iliff]

I know, OT, but I thought some of you might help me identify this bird. This is apparently a male-female pair, that is visiting.



--
Mr Pedagogue - Win XP Pro, D7i, PSP7, Canon S9000, WeInk CRS

 

[Daniella68313]

It's called a rosselin and it's quite common little bird in north america. the red is the male and the female is brown.

I know, OT, but I thought some of you might help me identify this
bird. This is apparently a male-female pair, that is visiting.



--
Mr Pedagogue - Win XP Pro, D7i, PSP7, Canon S9000, WeInk CRS

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND, Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya R72.

 

[Avi Lewis]

I am not familiar with the term "roselin", nor can I find it in my field guide, but birds often have many common names other than the accepted English names recognized by the American Birding Association.

The birds pictured are finches, probably House Finches. Alternately, the female may be a Cassin's Finch, and the male a Purple Finch, but since they appeared together, they're most likely House Finches, which they most appear to be from the picture. (Where they were photographed would also be a clue. Cassin's Finches are normally seen only in the western U.S. Purple and House Finches are very common at backyard feeders within their ranges. Several are on my feeder as I write this.)

Their scientific name is Carpodacus mexicanus. Their range was originally in Western Mexico, but they were sold in the pet trade, and escapees were very successful, expanding out from the metropolitan areas of the Northeast and Southern California. They now range over much of North America!

 

[Dr. Don Sandell]

Its a variety (sub species) of sparrow. There are many, MANY of them out there. For the exact species I'd do a search for: Roger Tory Peterson. One of the best bird painters of the last century!

 

[Daniella68313]

no they are not house finch they are wild bird and are very common in Canada, at least in north.

I am not familiar with the term "roselin", nor can I find it in my
field guide, but birds often have many common names other than the
accepted English names recognized by the American Birding
Association.

The birds pictured are finches, probably House Finches.
Alternately, the female may be a Cassin's Finch, and the male a
Purple Finch, but since they appeared together, they're most likely
House Finches, which they most appear to be from the picture.
(Where they were photographed would also be a clue. Cassin's
Finches are normally seen only in the western U.S. Purple and
House Finches are very common at backyard feeders within their
ranges. Several are on my feeder as I write this.)

Their scientific name is Carpodacus mexicanus. Their range was
originally in Western Mexico, but they were sold in the pet trade,
and escapees were very successful, expanding out from the
metropolitan areas of the Northeast and Southern California. They
now range over much of North America!

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND, Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.

 

[Daniella68313]

rosselin is the French name. I thought you meant that they were domestic cage finch.

 

[amgalitz]

The birds pictured are finches, probably House Finches.
Alternately, the female may be a Cassin's Finch, and the male a
Purple Finch, but since they appeared together, they're most likely
House Finches, which they most appear to be from the picture.
(Where they were photographed would also be a clue. Cassin's
Finches are normally seen only in the western U.S. Purple and
House Finches are very common at backyard feeders within their
ranges. Several are on my feeder as I write this.)

These match very well the photos of House Finches from my copy of "The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Western Region" (plates 460, 585) The original post is from Nevada which is within both ranges of the House and Purple Finch. The female Purple Finch coloration has streaks of white missing from the one in the photo here. The male in this photo has a brown horizontal band at the eye causing the red to form a cap on the head. The Purple Finch in the Field Guide has the red almost completely enveloping the head. These birds look almost exactly like the photos of House Finches in the Field Guide.

Their scientific name is Carpodacus mexicanus. Their range was
originally in Western Mexico, but they were sold in the pet trade,
and escapees were very successful, expanding out from the
metropolitan areas of the Northeast and Southern California. They
now range over much of North America!

Very interesting, I really enjoyed finding this out. When I lived in Sacramento, California I placed nesting boxes under our patio eaves and got three pairs to nest. We could watch them from our kitchen window. Two pairs successfully raised broods despite my cats. I had to engineer placement carefully! Old strawberry basekets work well. They will nest in groups and return to successful nesting sites in following years. The guide says they can raise up to four broods in a season! Enjoy them.