Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria hesperophilus) 4 February 2019. Pacifica, San Mateo County, CA Photos © 2019 Joseph Morlan
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria hesperophilus)

Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria hesperophilus)
This adult female (top) is an example of an uncommon extremely pale morph which lacks yellow underparts. Instead it shows minimal yellow confined mostly to the chin and malar region. Females lack the black crown of male (bottom) and generally appear drabber overall, with little white in the wing and no white in the tail. Unlike the similar American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch lacks distinctive breeding and non-breeding plumages. Instead it keeps the same plumage year-round. Nikon CoolPix P510.

References:

Clement, P. (2019). Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/61357 on 4 February 2019).

Watt, D. J. and E. J. Willoughby (2014). Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.392
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