[Birdnet] Nutmeg Mannikin

[Dennis Shirley]

 Hi All,
I just had an unusual bird at my backyard feeders, a NUTMEG MANNIKIN. It is a member of an Old World Family of finches and is common in Southeast Asia. They have become established in Southern California and also Hawaii,
and I have seen them at these two locations and also Thailand. They are not countable in ABA but does anyone know if they have been seen in Utah before. It's interesting to speculate where this guy might have come from. I'm not sure if they are a cage type bird and this is an escapee or if they are "naturally" spreading to other areas. Either case, he sure stood out from the house finches and house sparrows and got my interest real fast. He's the last bird shown in the National Geographic Field Guide, p.464. It will be interesting to see if he sticks around or is joined by others. He, along with all the other finches and sparrows, likes the cracked corn spread out on the ground. 
Dennis Shirley