Aussie Finch Forum

I got this bird today thinking it's a single factor yellow male, black face, purple breast, but now I am wondering if it can be a female. I have a yellow female and this bird is a bit darker than she is, however, the purple breast is not as bright as the other male I have. It's a juvenile bird going through its first molt and it has not sang yet.

Please let me know what you think.

Thank you!


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looks male to me

I would think a male, however the brightest female and the dullest male = the same colour. So treat it as male, but be willing to be pleasantly surprised.

i would think hen,head colour on cocks is darker,breast colour is light ,no extended tail feathers,overal colour light,glad to be wrong cheers garyh

Thank you all that replied. my initial thought is that this is a SF yellow, as there is some green developing on it's neck and back, hence I thought it was a male.

Thank you for your comments.

Hen

Hen as hens in the yellow colour tend to have a dark pink beek during breeding season. I based this on past observations could be wrong though.

I'm thinking hen because you would expect a male to have longer tail feathers in early summer.

Gary and Shane make a good point - that I had missed - re the tail feathers.

Shane Gowland wrote: ↑01 Jul 2021, 14:27 I'm thinking hen because you would expect a male to have longer tail feathers in early summer.

I agree with you all about the tail feathers, but this bird probably just completed it's first molt from its juvenile color. it was in a store with very poor food (millet only), and it is about 2/3 of the size of the other birds, hence the tail feathers are just starting to form. It is very possible it is a female though. I will let you know once I have the final answer. Just wanted to get the input of more experienced people as I haven't had any dilute nor SF yellow yet. I do have a yellow female (white breast, red head), and her yellow is much brighter than the one on this bird too.

The picture below is the bird now, besides a yellow female, green female and blue male.