Help Me Identify a Bird

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

sixteenvalleybirds — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:50:49 GMT

We're in Oakville, just on the Milton/Oakville border. Unfortunately we didn't see him again.

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

Jim Penny — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:02:58 GMT

LauraBean:
Thanks for the info! Just today I had a grosbeak with a yellow breast like yours come to my feeder. I wasn't able to get a picture, but perhaps he'll give me another chance. At any rate, I'm glad to know what's going on with him!

I also found the following statement Online from a birder in WI.

delores		02-Jun-2008 15:59
Have you ever seen a rose breasted grosbeak with a yellow breast rather than the red breast?? We have one at our feeder and it looks exactly like the rose breasted but it is yellow breasted?? We are located in northwest Wisconsin.. We have been bird feeding for 30 years and this is a first...

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

lonestranger — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:53:44 GMT

Beautiful shot, sixteenvalleybirds. Whereabouts in southern Ontario are you located? Just curious/doubtfully hopefull, that I might happen upon him in my travels around the area of Acton/Milton/Georgetown.

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

LauraBean — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:11:47 GMT

Thanks for the info! Just today I had a grosbeak with a yellow breast like yours come to my feeder. I wasn't able to get a picture, but perhaps he'll give me another chance. At any rate, I'm glad to know what's going on with him!

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

sixteenvalleybirds — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:39:26 GMT

Here's the reply we received from Cornell:

Dear ,
That's a great shot! The red in the Rose-breasted Grosbeak's breast is under the control of carotenoid pigments. When there's too little of a specific pigment the red becomes orange. If there's even less, it becomes yellow. Sometimes we see a bird that is missing the pigment in a part of its feathers, a white-headed robins or perhaps a crow with a large white patch on its wing. Sometimes a bird just has a little too much or a little too little pigmentation in its feathers and occasionally birds are missing all pigmentation, albino birds. There are a number of causes of such lack of pigmentation. You can read more about birds at our All About Birds web site at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/attracting/challenges/strange_birds/ .

Anne Hobbs
Public Information Specialist
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
http://www.birds.cornell.edu

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

sixteenvalleybirds — Sat, 09 May 2009 01:19:37 GMT

Thanks, everyone. We've sent an email to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and we'll update everyone if we get a response. We saw him yesterday in the early afternoon, and again in the evening, but we didn't see him again today. Hopefully he'll be back tomorrow!

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

Cavan Wood — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:52:52 GMT

billkaye:

Something seems a bit off to me in that photo. Wouldn't you think the black neck feathers would run into the yellow more like this?

They do. Or am I missing something?

Very cool bird sixteenvalleybird.

Scott

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

billkaye — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:25:04 GMT

Something seems a bit off to me in that photo. Wouldn't you think the black neck feathers would run into the yellow more like this?

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

sallee — Fri, 08 May 2009 04:23:59 GMT

I love the Internet! Here is an article I found on this beautiful bird.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, memory

Answers to readers' questions about xanthochroism, spatial memory, and site fidelity

By Julie Craves

Published: Friday, June 20, 2003

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak with yellow instead of red on its breast has come to my feeder for the last five summers. Is the bird a hybrid? - John Smith, Howell, Michigan

This very interesting bird is not a hybrid, as you suspect, but a Rose-breasted Grosbeak with a condition called xanthochroism. Xanthochroism is a pigment disorder, as are albinism (lack of pigment) and melanism (excess pigment). In xanthochroistic birds, either there is excessive yellow pigment in the feathers or yellow replaces another color, typically red. Xanthochroism occurs not only in birds, but also in other organisms. It may be caused by dietary deficiencies or a genetic mutation.

While fairly rare, the condition is nonetheless reported in a number of species of birds. One in which it is noted nearly annually is the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Because the red color of the head is replaced by a golden yellow, the Red-bellieds are often misidentified as Golden-fronted Woodpeckers. Orange Scarlet Tanagers and Northern Cardinals are also fairly common. I keep a large file on birds with "pigment problems," and yours is the first Rose-breasted Grosbeak I've come across.

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

birdbrain22 — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:08:37 GMT

Nice find and shot. I have never heard of color variation in RB Grosbeaks but apparently it exists! Thanks for posting.

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

snowyowl — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:01:56 GMT

That's extraordinary - great picture, thanks for sharing.

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

Klazane — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:35:31 GMT

I don't have any useful information to add to what Randy said, but that's really cool! Thanks for sharing! :D

Re: Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

RJP — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:49:38 GMT

sixteenvalleybirds:
Has anyone seen this before?

No (well not me)! But this kind of variation is known in other species. For example, male House Finches, which are normally red on the head and breast, rarely are yellow instead. I've read this may have to do with diet. Anyway, this is really cool. You might want to send this picture to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology - they would probably appreciate the record. contact info here: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/About/HowToReachUs.html

Yellow-breasted Grosbeak?

sixteenvalleybirds — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:27:42 GMT

We've had Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (several males and at least one female) passing through our yard for the past week or so. Today, this guy showed up. None of our field guides mention anything about a colour variation for these birds. Has anyone seen this before?