オオカワラヒワ / Oriental Greenfinch (subspecies)

There is a subspecies of the Oriental Greenfinch (C. s. kawarahiba, オオカワラヒワ), which is a winter bird in the family of the Oriental Greenfinch. I am ashamed to say that I had no idea that such a subspecies existed, but a fellow birder told me about it and I went looking for it.

First of all, here is the subspecies C. s. minor (カワラヒワ). A common Oriental Greenfinch in Japan. According to the illustrated book, the subspecies C. s. kawarahiba has “a stronger grayish-white head than the subspecies C. s. minor, and the white part of the tertials is wider”. Based on this, let us compare the following photos.

亜種カワラヒワ Oriental Greenfinch (C. s. minor)
亜種カワラヒワ / Oriental Greenfinch (C. s. minor) | Nikon D500 + AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

There were many Oriental Green finches along the Houman River (宝満川) in Fukuoka Prefecture. I thought that they might be here because of its proximity to the continent, so I observed them.

亜種オオカワラヒワ Oriental Greenfinch (C. s. kawarahiba)
Your head is gray… kind of looks like it.
亜種オオカワラヒワ Oriental Greenfinch (C. s. kawarahiba)
Another individual. The white part of the tertials is thicker and looks like a C. s. kawarahiba. The head has no grayish coloration, so it is probably a female.
亜種オオカワラヒワ Oriental Greenfinch (C. s. kawarahiba)
This is clearly not the usual Oriental Greenfinch. Both the grayish-white color of the head and the tertials are characteristic of the C. s. kawarahiba.
亜種オオカワラヒワ Oriental Greenfinch (C. s. kawarahiba)
As I looked at them with this in mind, I began to see that all of the Oriental Greenfinches in the area looked like C. s. kawarahiba.
亜種オオカワラヒワ Oriental Greenfinch (C. s. kawarahiba)
So is he. So is he.

So, it was nothing. Apparently, it was the C. s. kawarahiba that I had always seen in the winter. I now have another finer eye for birds.

木の枝に10羽ほどで集まるキジバトOriental Turtle Doves gather in groups of about 10 on a tree branch.
There were also roosting Oriental Turtle Doves.
夕暮れを飛ぶ三羽のミヤマガラスのシルエット Silhouettes of three Rooks flying at dusk
It is dusk here. A large number of Rooks flew over.
夕暮れを飛ぶミヤマガラスの群れ Flock of Rooks flying at dusk
They seem to be moving to roost in the direction of Mt. Kusenbu (九千部山) after finishing their noon foraging in the fields and other areas.

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