Its not often that you see a male Evening Grosbeak which doesn't have any black on it, but I did;
o
n two different occasions! This is an example of the condition called
xantho- chroism, which occurs when yellow replaces the normal colouration of the feathers. In this case the
yellow coloured male Evening Grosbeak
shown here is lacking the black feathers that a male usually displays. You can see the com- parision of the normal and abnormal colouration in the first photo, and also in the one below as two Evening Grosbeaks perch, one on each end of the feeder.
They're so pretty. I wish I saw more colorful birds. Nice shots!
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Very interesting Ann. I haven't seen ANY Grosbeaks in years around here.
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Becky, I haven't seen any Evening Grosbeaks this winter yet!
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