Wednesday, 29 April 2020

Banbury :: 29 April 2020

As the national lockdown drags on, I continue to work from home but now am intermittently asked to take some of my remaining holiday. GreenfinchThis has allowed me to spend a bit more time looking out of the window but at the time when the weather has turned a bit more like April is supposed to be - the summer weather has retreated at present.

Mostly I have seen all my usual birds with little new of note - I do seem to have more greenfinches than in previous years.

My attention was drawn to a light coloured bird initially on the ground, and since then also on the feeders. Goldfinch x canary muleA strange coloured goldfinch is what I photographed and shared on Twitter. A really useful comment from @old_caley pointed to the fact that it was a goldfinch x canary mule.

It appears that most canary types are used in the production of Mules for various reasons exhibition, song, colour etc. In fact, new species can be produced from mules and hybrids - occasionally a mule or hybrid is found to be fertile and if bred it creates a new species. Mostly they are sterile.

The bird has now been in the garden for three consecutive days and I've enjoyed watching out for it.

Hopefully something unexpected will pass in the coming days / weeks.Goldfinch x canary mule Goldfinch x canary mule

1 comment:

  1. It may be a Mule but a donkey it is not! A fine looking bird and a treat to have at the feeder.

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