A female Cassin’s finch showed up at our feeder a couple of weeks ago. (New Bird at The Feeder) Evidently, she liked our offerings so much, she brought a friend back.

The bird on the left is obviously a male Cassin’s finch — red head feathers raised in a little crest, eye streak of white, and then a streak of brown from his lower beak. And of course the pale pink on his chest — it looks to me as if he got tossed in a red load of laundry and he came out pink.

And I think the bird on the right is a femal Cassin’s finch, based on the dark streak we can see on her chest.

But here’s where the identification gets a little tricky. She doesn’t have the streaking on her face that the male does. Is it just the light? Or am I just wrong in my identification?

Even more confusion — one of the characteristics on the male that had me reaching for my camera to shoot a new bird was his red crest. But in the photo avbove, he has lowered it. Still looks like he got caught in the wrong load of laundry, though.

But here is a definite female Cassin’s finch, shot at the same time as the other two.

So now my question is: did I have two Cassin’s finches at the feeder, or did I have three?

Further research is required.