Whatbird.com

This bird was photographed in May, 2006 in Madera Canyon, AZ.  I'm pretty sure I mislabeled it at the time.

Hey Snowy.

 

Looks like a Siskin to me.  Which, if I'm not mistaken, are residents somewhere down in that area??

 

 

 

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Life List: 302

Recent Lifers:

November:
Vesper Sparrow
Black Scotor
Surf Scotor

October:
Hudsonian Godwit

Lincoln's Sparrow? (although the head seems a bit pale for that)

I'm seeing it as a siskin.

lyceel, I didn't think the bill could match for a sparrow so that will be interesting if it works out. 

The siskin idea was interesting but the experience of the OP I think would rule that out. 

Looked at a pipit but the beak didn't fit.  Tried but failed. 

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Latest Birds: Black-throated Green Warbler, Pine Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Rufous-backed Robin, Crissal Thrasher

Matt:

lyceel, I didn't think the bill could match for a sparrow so that will be interesting if it works out. 

The siskin idea was interesting but the experience of the OP I think would rule that out. 

Looked at a pipit but the beak didn't fit.  Tried but failed. 

 

 

Yeah, the head and bill are wrong for any of the sparrows.  I can't find anything  on the bird that would rule out pine siskin, and I would probably have identified it as such without giving it a second thought if not, like you said, for the fact that it gave Snowy pause.

I agree that the bill would usually rule sparrows out, but just from what I could find in iBird (I was at work), I thought the Lincoln's bill might be long and narrow enough to fit.  I already mentioned the head didn't look right to me.  The only other possibility I could find is what Snowy considers mislabeled (hopefully that's not considered cheating on the quiz ).

I didn't say Siskin mainly because it had already been suggested, but also, the bill looked a bit wrong to me in all the photos I could find.  I don't have any experience with them, though (they don't like the swamp, I guess).

 

I agree Matt... I looked at the Pipit too... has a color match of the bill, but has too many stripes.  I think this one of those traps that Snowy sets... from time to time.  Notice that he did not give an ID... he only does that when it might be a lifer for him... Trust me... he has an opinion on this bird.

Fraser

Edit:  I looked back at the posts of 2006... and could not find this bird posted.  Perhaps it was in 2007.

It's a Pine Siskin, there's no longer any doubt in my mind. Here are the pics from the internets:

 

Shows the pattern of streaking looks good

Shows the bill looks good.

 

Pine Siskin.

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Total birds seen: 205
Latest lifers:
Brown Creeper, Field Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow
Favorite lifers:
Black-billed Cuckoo, Reddish Egret, Wood Stork

Well, the panel is excellent as usual. No "trap" was intended, nor is it a life bird. It would have been a life bird had it been the Cassin's Finch the way I had mislabeled it back in 2006, but the bill looked too long and I finally realized it was just another Pine Siskin. They are very easy to ID in profile, but not quite as obvious with only a frontal view.  It took me three years to correct the error, took you guys one evening!

Always sucks when you find out you have to strike a lifer from the list. Hope you find your Cassin's one of these days, snowy!

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Total birds seen: 205
Latest lifers:
Brown Creeper, Field Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow
Favorite lifers:
Black-billed Cuckoo, Reddish Egret, Wood Stork

I think that Snowy... WANTS to cast out birds from his life list.... IF they are wrong.  I sense... and have seen... very high standards here.   Integrity...  Strange to see these days...

Fraser

Kryptos18:

Always sucks when you find out you have to strike a lifer from the list. Hope you find your Cassin's one of these days, snowy!

I'll have a chance for it next July in Rocky Mountain N.P. and Santa Fe, N.M.