Special Vistor

Okay, I'm totally baffled about my visitor to the bird feeder, I've just spent 3 hours looking at sites that are on finches and I'm even more confused.

Madam P and myself were watching our blue jay screech for peanuts, (we now have a tray screwed to the deck railing for peanuts) we watched until the "smart one" rebelliously jumped on the feeder and scooped the seed to the ground, quite upset. Needless to say Madam filled the tray with peanuts. Low and behold! Everything else jumped on the bird feeding coach!

I grabbed the camera and took a sequence of pictures, here he (definite 'he') is with the female redpoll. The pictures aren't all that clear, it was raining this day and I was so excited about seeing him, I was hurried. The top picture is the best and the one I put there so it will enlarge. (I still haven't figured out what I'm doing that won't allow all my pics to enlarge.)

My very first post, ever, was done on reddish/orange bird on my sister's blogspot at:http://tinaramsey.blogspot.com/, at the time...I thought the bird was a redpoll because he hangs with the obviously identifiable female redpoles, seen briefly in the top photo to the left of the red bird. You can faintly make out her red colored cap. I have several females visiting lately. Here is the first picture , the one that accompanied my first post.

I'm not even sure this is the same finch, but I tell ya.....there is about 5 different finches and the best site I found for them is at:http://www.whatbird.com/browse/objs/All/birds_na_147/59/Family/11086/Finches%20(Fringillidae)/default.aspx

Some of the sequenced pictures include the redpole and this bird flying to a nearby branch but only I, can locate them in the photo, he flew back to the bird holder and seemed very curious.

Although somewhat citrus colored like the house finch, he doesn't have a streaked underbelly and my bird has a forked tail, house finch doesn't. He has the remarked raspberry color like the purple finch but the tail seems long and forked, not short and forked like the purple finch. The redpole has the clear double banding on the wings, but seems to have a red cap broken by white, there is continued color all the way down the face of mine. My bird has the lighter colored beak and the gray feet, the color is reminiscent of the red crossbill. The red crossbill has eight different calls (do to a variation in the bill, and it's bill is black) and it's believed to be of eight different species. The common rose finch and the cassin finch looks to be of the same colors and markings but they range in the west. All the above finches measure 5-9 inches, one other measures 9-12 inches and this bird could be the larger of the one, smaller of the other.

That is a pine grosbeak, oay vey. C & G Design.