Aussie Finch Forum

mr skeeter wrote: ↑21 Sep 2018, 14:09 Has to be around 10 years ago

You could probably double that at least . .

Craig will know

Yes have to agree Arthur. David Myers did a study on the dark chestnut form of the WE and actually sent me a couple of pr probably 30 years ago so no real good pics from those days. His study found there was a darker Southern form compared to the lighter coloured Northern birds. They weren't chocolate they were a chestnut red colour on the breast and slightly darker on the back and the white ear really stood out where as the lighter one's are nearly white fronted with a chestnut back. There is an ASA journal from years back with a dark form bird on the front cover but not sure which year. Just recently i observed a dark form bird in a pic taken by John Griffiths on the Cape but all the other WE's were light coloured so go figure. Johns reply was they seem to appear every now and then among large flocks. Craig

Sounds like they may be another victim of the "all in together" that tended to happen for many years. But that the gene is obviously still there. Also sounds as if light may be dominant over dark with these.
LML

There is a variance in the wild birds aswell from the same areas. I have sent in some photos aswell taken from hundreds of different samples.After sitting at water holes for a few days. As John said there are very few dark birds.