European Greenfinch – Satin-winged Yellow-billed Greenfinch

Description:

Male Yellow-billed Isabelle Satin European Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris).

After 10 years of selective breeding, following the emergence of the yellow-beaked mutation in the European Greenfinch at my breeding centre (see reports on the yellow-beaked Greenfinch in the ‘Reports’ tab), I am delighted to present a photograph of a male yellow-beaked Isabelle satinet – certainly the first of its kind in the world. The photo speaks for itself and the result is particularly spectacular. I had been hoping to achieve this combination, but it took a little time and a bit of luck, as, for the record, the yellow-beak factor is autosomal recessive. The bird’s beak is golden yellow, as are all its other horny parts (legs, claws). The entire plumage is ‘daffodil’ yellow, like the flower of the same name. The flight feathers and tail feathers display a very deep brown phaeomelanin. The icing on the cake is that this male Greenfinch won the COM World Champion title in Zwolle, the Netherlands, in January 2019, with 94 points. JM EYTORFF

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