June In-hand quiz answers

Both of these birds have have field marks that are inconsistant with what they are and to the untrained eye those inconsistancies might get in the way.  This is why I always advocate looking at the whole bird and not get too hung up on any one field mark.

Bird #1 - Golden-crowned Kinglet.  Thiis is a hatch-year bird, probably no more than a week out of the nest.  From the neck down. it's exactly the way a kinglet ought to look.  The head, however, another story.  By the fall, the bill color will change and a proper (though sudued) crown will appear.

Bird #2 - Purple Finch.  In this case, the breast and flank striping is dark and well defined, a feature that might lead one to thinking this is a Cassin's Finch.  Once again, a single field mark rarely gets us to the ID.  The very stout bill, the lack of well defined streaking all the way to the under tail covers and details of the face pattern all contradict Cassin's Finch.  Birds like tis are routinely called Cassin's Finch at local feeders in Western Oregon.  Don't be fooled...