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Elaine Deutsch
Brandamore, PA, United States
I first saw this finch on March 31, 2017. He was out on my feeders, but it was late and pouring rain, so I was not able to get decent photos. I saw him again on April 7th. I just saw him again this evening, right outside my kitchen window on the feeders. I’m assuming that he is molting? But the beak is white as well. I can’t tell if he is a House Finch or a Gold Finch. I have plenty of both.
Other
White Finch 04-10-2017
did anyone ever identify it for you…because i just saw one at my feeder…(your post came up when i went online to search for what it was)…today is 8/9/18..and i’m in grants pass oregon and it’s midmorning on a river
I breed zebra finches, and one of pairs got a couple of white beaked, white feathered, all white finches, they are very healthy, I think it is an albino finch. And I think it’s quite rare coz I never got a pair like that!!! All of you have only seen it, but I own 2 of them!!!
Hi Tracey and Elaine, This bird is likely leucistic or albanistic. Because it is in a flock with House Finches, our best guess is that it is another House Finch. Because Albinism is the the inability to produce melanin, this is likely an albino bird. Leucistic birds usually have patches of white as opposed to being white all over. You can read more about Albino and Leucistic birds on our Unusual Birds webpage here: https://feederwatch.org/learn/unusual-birds/
Don’t albino animals usually have red/pink eyes? That bird appears to have the normal black eyes.
Just saw a Leucistic Finch this morning at nine thirty in the morning on March 10 2019. I have never seen one before and I have had bird feeders for forty years. I will try to get a picture of it.
I also spotted a white (albino?) finch in my back yard on 3/21/19 in Ottawa, IL
I have a white finch at my feeder also, in Phoenix AZ. 4-3-2019 It looks like only one. Very curious. Lots of house finch babies and sparrows as well.
I was down on Jackson Lake in Monticello Georgia this afternoon which is June 4th 2019. We have a feeder outside our home and as we were sitting on our deck we spotted a white Finch I was unsure it first and then when I checked in my bird books as well as I Googled it I saw that other people had saw white finches I was not sure myself cuz that was the first time I had ever seen one. I was very excited and I hope that he will return I was wondering if I should put out some of the thistle seeds instead of the regular mix seeds that I have been putting out does anyone have suggestions.
Hi Robbie Ann, Please feel free to use our Common Feeder Birds tool to find out what types of seed birds like to eat. If you know the species of finch you’re seeing, you can select it from the tool and learn what kinds of food they eat.
I saw a white finch about 7:30 amJune 21, 2019 my thistle feed accompanied by a male house finch. Once the male got his fill he took flight and the white bird followed. I assume they’re a breeding pair. Wonder what is the likelihood hood they have a white chick in their brood.
I have a very pale/white finch at my feeder in Denver-arrived 6/21/19.
I have an all white finch at my feeder. Kannapolis NC. Saw it once a few days ago, but it is here today. 6/24/19
We have a white finch with other wild finches normal colors but this one is all white Tehama County California. North California
Just saw one of these white finches with red beak under my feeders digging around…exciting
Our son took a picture of this bird on his feeder yesterday. We live in southeastern Illinois, (Newton) From what I could find on the computer, it is a white finch, possibly an albino of the gold finch or house finch.
We have a white finch I assume hanging around our place in Morton, Illinois. Noticed it yesterday.. 7-22-2019. I have a picture and a short movie of it. We thought it was a rare sight but apparently not as much as we thought, according to the posts i just read.
I had my first sighting of an Albino Finch in my yard on August 13th. 2019. I named her “POWDER”. I have taken so many pictures and my husband finally got to see her in person today August 17th. 2019. We are hopeful “POWDER” will remain here her entire life. As we do have many species of birds that are lifetime guests. I would love to share my photos, but I dont see where to attach them.
Hi Mardee, You can always submit photos to our Public Gallery, though submission to the “unusual” birds gallery is only open to participants of Project FeederWatch – look for it at the bottom of the “Your Data” tab when you’re signed in.
Oh my goodness ~ Just had a pure white Finch at my feeder…. Beautiful! 8/17/19 in Ingleside, Illinois
I have got ? A white finch in my feeder this morning or ? White sparrow. It is with the sparrows. Not able to get a decent picture which is a shame.
I live in abergele has anyone else seen it
To our delight, a lovely white finch has been coming to our feeder 3 days in a row. We have a couple of photos now. We live in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
I was so blessed to see one of these beautiful birds on my feeder, I live in Lake isabella California.Have you seen it.
I have seen a leucistic House finch a number of times over the past few years. On Cape Cod Massachusetts.
I did not know there was such a thing, until I spotted an all white finch in our yard, the past two days. How interesting! Glad I found this page and see other’s have saw these birds, as well.
I forgot to mention that we are located in Peru, Indiana.
So excited to see this flash of white as it flew across my driveway!! For the past three days, we have had a leucistic bird at our feeders. With the help of a camera and computer, I feel it is a House Finch or maybe a Dark Eyed Junco because of it’s build, wing and tail feathers. Those seem to be the buddies she follows and flies away in company.
I live in the Midwest, south of Chicago, IL.
For the past two days, we have a white finch (we believe) at our feeder and also eating off the ground. We live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and in our 47 yrs of living here, we have never seen anything like this bird. It is very exciting!!
A bird just like this has turned up today in my garden in Oxfordshire UK!! I wonder if it could have been carried here on the stormy winds? Very beautiful little bird
Hi Chris, This bird has a pigment abnormality, such as albinism or leucism. Any bird can be afflicted – it’s likely you have an albino or leucistic individual in your backyard. You can learn more about plumage variations here.
Greetings, we saw a bird just like this on our feeder yesterday, in Massachusetts, except that the beak clearly had yellow pigment c/w the normal shade for a goldfinch’s beak. Otherwise it was snowy white all over. We did not notice the eye color so I am assuming it was normal dark as it did not stand out to us. Shall we assume this was a leucistic goldfinch? It was the right size and shape for the finch family.
Hi, If you know the bird is a finch, but aren’t sure which species, please feel free to use the “add species” button on your count list page, and report the bird as “finch sp.” – this helps us know that you know it was a finch, but weren’t sure what species. If you have any questions, please email feederwatch@cornell.edu.
Good morning, I was looking out at my backyard feeders yesterday and there was a white finch. There is a variety of finches that visit my feeders, but this is the first time I have seen a white one, a special treat for sure. I live in Wisconsin & have enjoyed feeding the birds for years. This was a special treat!
A white Finch showed up at my feeder in Kennewick, Washington May 21, 2020.
Albino House finch in Easley this morning at 10:20am. Feeding with other birds. So cool I got to see this!
White finch in Ann Arbor MI today
We’ve had a albino or leucistic finch at our feeder for the past couple weeks. Ours is more of a light cream color. Very pretty. We were really excited to see it !!
Saw a white finch at my feeder yesterday. My husband saw him in a tree the day before. He is absolutely stunning!!
Forgot I live in Broadview Heights OH
I live in The Dalles, Oregon and spotted an albino finch in my yard about 2 weeks ago! I was so excited to get a photo but reached for my phone only to realize I had left it inside. UGH… I’ve lived in my home for 25 years and this is the1st one I had seen. Well he came back this morning and I was able to get several good pics. It seems he prefers sunflower seeds over thistle seed. Or, perhaps he just doesn’t want to battle the many other finches for a perch on the thistle seed feeders? At any rate, it seemed very content so I hope he’s going to stick around for awhile
Saw a white finch at our feeder today. I am doing my investigative work and will read all of the articles presented here. Thank you everyone! Illinois/Wisconsin border, Gurnee, Il 08/14/2020
I’ve had what I think is a leucistic goldfinch appear several times at my feeders, along with other goldfinches. It is mostly white, with a very pale yellow head and the characteristic black wings.
Alma Michigan 4/29/21 lone white finch photoed.
I have a white finch at my black sunflower feeder last two days! So beautiful! Peoria, Il
New Castle DE all white small bird with dark eyes and a light colored beak. I assumed it was a Sparrow, because it’s usually feeding on the ground not my finch feeders.
I just had a white finchat my feeder in Linden Michigan. I had never seen one before. At first I thought it was an albino. I couldn’t get my phone out quick enough to get a picture of him before he flew off. I sure hope he comes back.
I saw a white finch in my front yard where the usual finches love to eat the dried coneflower seeds. I didn’t have my phone on me to take a picture. I have never seen one before, and was assuming it was an albino. The next day I saw a hawk flying out of a big tree in the back yard. Unfortunately, 2 days later I discovered that the white finch didn’t survive. I’m not sure what it died from, (the hawk or something else) but I was so sad!! I was hoping to see more. I’m in Southern Indiana.
Hi, we had a white finch in our desert backyard today. First time we’ve seen one. We are in the Tucson Mts.
I had a white finch today on my feeder. 3/5/2022 at 12:08.
White Finch has been visiting my feeder here in East Tennessee. Munching on Sunflower Seeds. I have lots of Gold and Red Finches visit, this is my first White one.
We had a White Finch with pale yellow wings at out feeder, April 22, 2022. We have a lot of American Gold Finch and that is the shape of the white one. The Gold Finches are here year round, (we live on East coast of New Brunswick, Canada) & this is the first time in 20 years of feeding birds we’ve ever seen one. Red Letter Day!
Hi, correction to the White Finch in New Brunswick, just took a picture and it has all white body & wings with a pale yellow head & the yellow goes down the back as well.
Enfield Connecticut Here! I am blessed to have a white finch visit my feeders daily for the last three years. This finch has a very pale beak… But I believe dark eyes. This finch likes my perch feeder and safflower.
10/13/2022:I just saw a white finch with about a half dozen normal finches in my yard. Very bright white with yellow/orange beak. The normal finches were chattering and nipping at the white bird. I couldn’t get a photo, it was 50 feet away and my cheap phone has poor resolution at that distance….Hamlet, NC 12:00pm
White finch on feeder, never saw one before. Live marengo il just east of rockford
Saw white finch at my feeder, marengo il
Saw a small white bird the size of a Fench today. With other fences around. Never seen one before. This same area I have also seen Tweety birds. Yellow. Pikeville . TN.
Saw a white finch like bird this AM. It has black mark on its eye area. It was with house finches. This is in Glen Gardner,NJ. Never saw one prior to today
I just seen one today March 29, 2023 I think it is an albino. I’m my backyard kitchen window. In Oklahoma.
We have a pair in our yard. One is white with some grey spots on wings. The other looks like a purple finch. They appear to be building a nest nearby. Saw them first time today. We are in Michigan thumb area.
I have a white finch at my feeders now. 7-26-23. I found this line of comments while googling for info. It is happily eating Safflower and thistle. I have not seen this before.
Saw a white small bird (finch) at my feeder just now. Never saw one before. Beek was also white.
Spotted small white bird pecking in street gutter of quiet neighborhood. Has small black cap and dark toward ends of wing feathers, otherwise very all-white body. Flew like a finch. Small for goldfinch.
I also saw, in June 2023, a small flock of three white finches several days in a row flying around the yard feeding on weed seeds. One sat on the railing and i got a good look. Black eyes. Wouldnt an albino have pink eyes?
I live in Federal Way , WA and we have a white junco that has been coming to our feeder for the past 3 months with normal dark eyes, I have never seen one before, is this a rare mutation? Why is this one all white? Thank you
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