Oriole or not?

July 29, 2010 12:43 PM

What kind of bird is this?

This little bird likes to pick away at zinnias. It looks like an oriole, but the beak seems too blunt and the wrong color. (The photo is a little blurry because it was shot through a window screen.)

posted by longsleeves to Science & Nature (12 answers total)

Best answer: Goldfinch
posted by wowbobwow at 12:44 PM on July 29, 2010

Looks like a goldfinch, but was it larger like oriole-size?
posted by dayintoday at 12:45 PM on July 29, 2010

Photo.
posted by wowbobwow at 12:46 PM on July 29, 2010

wowbobwow is right: totally a goldfinch.
posted by komara at 12:46 PM on July 29, 2010

That is an adult male American Goldfinch
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:46 PM on July 29, 2010

A goldfinch. Male.

They're pretty small and very active. There are probably more dully coloured females around too.
posted by hydrobatidae at 12:48 PM on July 29, 2010

Best answer: Dang ol' male Goldfinch you got there. My dad calls them "flying mice."
posted by brand-gnu at 12:56 PM on July 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

That there be the state bird of Iowa, the goldfinch.
posted by ducktape at 12:59 PM on July 29, 2010

Response by poster: It was pretty small, about three inches including the tail.
posted by longsleeves at 1:05 PM on July 29, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks all for the quick answers.
posted by longsleeves at 1:07 PM on July 29, 2010

Best answer: O! Spinus tristis, I love how they bob and float when they fly, and are all like "tsweet tsweet tsweet" as they do so.
posted by wowbobwow at 1:14 PM on July 29, 2010 [1 favorite]

Bah, these things were a major pest for me earlier in the summer. They seem to like nectar, so they would walk along my melon vines and take a peck at the base of each flower bud, killing it. Next year I'll know what species to yell and shake my fist at!
posted by TungstenChef at 1:45 PM on July 29, 2010