People could be excused for mistaking a vibrantly-coloured songbird—once rare in the province—for a domestic escape, says one local bird expert.
Jared Clarke of Bird the Rock says the male American goldfinch is a bright yellow bird with black wings and a black head—leading some to believe that they might have escaped from a cage.
While relatively rare in Newfoundland and Labrador just a half a century ago, the bird has expanded its range and is now quite common in the province.
Clarke says the population has “exploded” since the 1950s and now is one of the most abundant finches in the province.