House Finch With Color Variation

This attractive male House Finch perched in the branches of the Burning Bush in spring is sporting some strange colors. He is a mix of red, yellow and orange. The House Finches acquire their coloration from pigments in the plant foods they eat. This is true for most birds with red, orange, or yellow-pigmented feathers. These tones each derive from a different organic pigment, known as carotenoids. I had never seen a male House Finch with these colors and I think that I like this color combination better than the red!