I found this beautiful bird with his flame coloured plumage in the Dunedin botanical gardens, I think it may be a Red Siskin, but I could be wrong…..
This little bird reminded me of a song we recorded a few years ago Light My Fire

Music New Zealand music written, produced and vocals Keith & Andrea recorded in Auckland

The Red Siskin, Carduelis cucullata, is a small passerine bird. This finch is a resident breeding bird in tropical South America in northern Colombia and northern Venezuela (where it’s called “cardenalito”). The Red Siskin is found in open country, forest edges and grassland with trees or shrubs. The female is believed to lay 3 greenish white eggs in a grassy cup nest in a tree. Red Siskins eat seeds, and are highly gregarious. When they were more numerous they formed semi-nomadic flocks. The downfall of this siskin has been massive illegal trapping for the cage bird trade. This is an attractive finch with a pleasant song, and its unique coloration for a small finch (most are predominantly yellow) has led to it being used for interbreeding with domesticated Canaries to produce varieties with red in the plumage.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 Dunedin Otago Southland New Zealand July 2011
Featured 14th July 2011

You Light My Fire