Please ID, Lesser Goldfinch Pale Male?

[unclegus]

Hello, It was mentioned that this was either a Yellow or Orange Crowned Warbler because of the beak, however, what about the stocky body? Gus

[AndyB]

Hi Gus, nice photo. Thanks for posting. This is an Orange-crowned Warbler

[unclegus]

Andy: Thank you for the conformation. I'm reposting the photo to check sizing restrictions. Can't understand why I can post more than maximum displayed for JPG of 620 W and 280 H when photo I attached is 600 x 450?
. . . Gus

[AndyB]

Wow, that's a gorgeous photo. You can even just make out a small orange area on top of crown too.

Many birders have problems separating Yellow and Orange-crowneds and they can be sometimes be tricky as the pulmage of both species can vary from bright to dull. In terms of separating from Yellow Warbler, here's a duller Yellow Warbler that's approaching the color of your Orange-crowned, however, note the "bare-faced" look of Yellow - pale area between eye and bill whereas Orange-crowned usually shows some sort of eyestripe. Also note the pale fringes to the wing feathers on the Yellow too.
http://www.deltanewsweb.com/archives/images/yellow_warbelor_dp.jpg


Here's a photo of a Lesser Goldfinch which shows the thicker finch-like bill compared to the thinner warbler bill of your Orange-crowned.
http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/lesser_goldfinch.jpg