California Quail

The California quail is the quail of my youth growing up in the foothills of Salt Lake City. It is also the quail of my mid-life and now old-age on the edge of Live Oak Canyon in Redlands, California. I know its unmistakable call, the blast of its wings as it explodes from nearby bushes and the beeline of its small feet as it scurries into nearby bushes. What is amazing to me, as I look back on it, is that I have only two observations of California quail on iNaturalist, compared to 30 observations of Gambel's quail, and I do not live in the vicinity of Gambel's quail or see them anywhere near as often. I never see California quail when they are not exploding from cover or scrambling pell-mell, so photographs are difficult to come by. 

These first three photos were taken in Live Oak Canyon on October 25, 2020. Not great photos by any stretch of the imagination. 

 

This and the following photos were taken on March 30, 2025 when I was with Judy and Sam at the UC Santa Cruz Botanical Garden. It was a rainy day and I was sitting on a bench waiting for hummingbirds to visit a particular tree. I just happened to catch this hefty female in some periods where she was not scampering.  

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World.

Range map from Birds of the World. This is the first time I've looked at a range map for them and I am surprised by how sparsely located they are in Utah. I saw lots of them growing up and just assumed they were everywhere. 

Wedge-Billed Woodcreeper

On March 18, 2022 I visited the Mashpi Amagusa Reserve, in the Mashpi-Pachijal IBA, near Mindo in Ecuador. One of the most significant mornings of birding and wildlife observation in my life. I got a partial photograph of a wedge-billed woodcreeper, partially hiding on a tree. My guide identified it and I've submitted it to iNaturalist, but no identifiers have corroborated it. But the distinctive tail, along with my guide and iNaturalist, makes me feel pretty confident about the identification. 

Illustration of ssp. spirursus from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. 

There are 13 subspecies and geographic variation in plumage and vocalizations is considerable. I do not know which ssp. I saw, I don't have a photo of the entire bird, and there were not illustrations of all ssps. So I just picked the one that looked the closest to my photo.  

Purple Finch

The purple finch has been an elusive find. I have seen lots of very red house finches that I've wondered might be purple finches, to no avail. How ironic that when I finally see one, it is a female with no red (or purple) on it and an identification that totally shocks me. On November 1, 2025 I was in the San Gabriel Mountains above Los Angeles near the Chilao Visitors Center, a spot with some tap water that attracts birds. I suspected I might be seeing a bird I'd not seen before. It had a thick bill, lots of yellow and brown. I submitted it to iNaturalist and it suggested a purple finch. I've had one identifier confirm it, david99, the sixth highest identifier of purple finches with 547 identifications. 

An illustration of a female from Birds of the World.

An illustration of a male from Birds of the World. 

Males have a red head, breast, back and rump. Females have light brown upperparts and white underparts with dark brown streaks throughout and a white line above the eye. There are two subspecies. Ssp. californicus, found in southwest Canada and the western U.S., which I saw, has darker plumage, a longer tail and longer bill than the nominate ssp. and females are more greenish, which I described as yellow above. It is found in coniferus and mixed forest, including wooded areas along the U.S. Pacific coast. 

Range map from Birds of the World. 

Pine Siskin

On April 8, 2023 I was at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve in Morongo Valley, California when I saw my one and only (so far) pine siskin. It is small, about the size of the American goldfinch. It is brown on the upperparts, pale on the underparts and heavily streaked throughout. They have yellow patches on their wings and tail and white streaks on the wings. There are three subspecies and I saw ssp. pinus, found in Alaska, Canada, the western U.S. and northwestern U.S. They are mostly found in open conifer forests and northern pine forests support the majority of the breeding population. Migration is highly variable, probably related to food supply. Large numbers move south in some years and hardly any in others. 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World

European Greenfinch

On July 25, 2022 we spent a day in the Tagus Estuary of Portugal with Bernardo Barreto, a bird guide. A bird pointed out to me by Bernardo, which I was not able to get a photo of, was the European greenfinch. I recall the setting, but I don't remember where along the estuary we saw it. 

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. 

Cassin's Finch

I've only seen Cassin's finch once, but it was a marvelous showing of multiple birds, both male and female, on April 8, 2023 at Big Morongo Canyon Reserve. I was struck by how robust and beautiful they were. 

Illustration of female from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of male from Birds of the World. 

Adults have a brown tail and wings and a longer bill than the purple finch. The male has red on the head, breast, back and rump and the back and under-tail are streaked. Females have light brown upper-parts and light underparts with brown streaks throughout. They can have red, brown or white eyes. They breed in the coniferous forests of the mountains of western North America as far south as northern New Mexico, Arizona, near Southern California and Baja California. They move to lower elevations in the winter. Some are permanent residents, some migrate south, particularly more northern birds, as far as central Mexico. From the range map, it appears that they may be permanent residents of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. 

Range map from Birds of the World. 

American Goldfinch

I saw my first American goldfinch at Big Morongo Canyon Reserve in Morongo Valley, California, on May 14, 2022. It is a species I'd been wanting to see for a long time. Unfortunately, I did not get a good view of it.

We get lots and lots of lesser goldfinches and range maps appear to show the American goldfinch as present throughout California, but that has not been my experience. A year later, on May 12, 2023, I was in Central Park in New York City.  My son Andrew and his girlfriend Michaela, who live in Manhattan, lined up a bird walk for me with Birding Bob, hosted by a substitute, Deborah Allen, that day. Judy came along to keep me company. I saw two Amereican goldfinches and was quite excited about it. The first one, in particular, was a good view.  

The first two photos are the first one and the 3rd and 4th photos are the second one. 

There are four subspecies. The ones in New York were the nominate ssp. tristis, also known as the eastern goldfinch, which is the most common of the subspecies. The California ssp. appears to be salicamans, which is browner than the other subspecies and the male's black cap is smaller than the others. 

The American goldfinch undergoes two molts during the year. During the winter molt it sheds all of its feathers and in the spring, it sheds all but the wing and tail feathers. After the spring molt, the male is a brilliant yellow with a black cap and white rump visible during flight. The female is mostly brown, lighter on the underside, with a yellow bib. 

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World. 

Range map from Birds of the World.