Which finch?

[dissbirder]

I have this bird visiting my garden. It has a damaged leg but is feeding well It's bigger than a greenfinch can anyone confirm what it is it looks too green to be a linnet. It has grey cheeks and a faint dark moustach. No obvious red on forehead and no white rump very streaked plumage prominently grey on head but overall fairly 'rusty" colour. no prominent wing markings idIt happily feeding on the niger seeds and kibbled sunflower hearts but can't get a cheep out of it though it lets me get quite close. has pale gray bill and the hint of red just above upper mandible

[andy68]

It's an escaped Canary, or possibly a hybrid of some sort. Bird fanciers breed Canaries with all sorts of other finches (so called 'mules') and it can be very difficult to identify the parentage of some of these.

Andy

[dissbirder]

Thank's Andy. Maybe someone local lost some a while ago as I had another canary in the garden some months ago I actually caught that one under a shirt and put it in a cage but it had been out too long in the cold and didn't survive. many thanks for the prompt response

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by dissbirder

Thank's Andy. Maybe someone local lost some a while ago as I had another canary in the garden some months ago I actually caught that one under a shirt and put it in a cage but it had been out too long in the cold and didn't survive. many thanks for the prompt response

I think canaries dont tend to last long, being picked of by predators or the cold weather. One of the most sureal wildlife experiences Ive ahd was a canry wizzing over my head before crashing into a window, and just as I wondering why it did it a that, a kestrel that had been chasing it banked to miss the window and caught the canary just after it 'boinced' off the window. Was amazing to see.