House Finch, Beaverton, Oregon, 28 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.This common backyard bird wasn't always as common. For more information see In the backyard... House Finch.
Showing posts with label House Finch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label House Finch. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
House Finch
House Finch, Beaverton, Oregon, 28 November 2011 by Greg Gillson.This common backyard bird wasn't always as common. For more information see In the backyard... House Finch.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
What bird is that?... Questions and answers
Patti's nesting House Finch saga...
Question: "A house finch built a nest in the wreath on my front door. It is against the glass window on the door so I have been watching the progress of the nesting female. The eggs hatched about a week ago and the mother bird has been attentive and feeding the babies until today. I haven't seen her at all. Has she abandoned the nest? Also, there have been two male house finches hanging around. Any info would be appreciated."
Patti
Patti writes back on May 9: "I've seen her a few times since my original email to you. I'm not really familiar with bird behavior so was worried. The babies appear to be growing so I guess she's feeding them. Are the males involved in feeding the young also?"
Answer: I looked it up and it seems the male in all finches feed the young, sometimes even feed the female while she is incubating.
Patti writes back on May 10: "This is all new to me - and fascinating! This morning, the mother bird is in the nest with the babies -- is that common behavior at this point (10 days give or take after they've hatched)? I greatly appreciate your info!"
Answer: In general, the birds lay one egg a day until the whole clutch is complete before beginning incubation. Thus, all the eggs can hatch the same day. That takes about 3 weeks. Then, about 3 weeks later the young will fledge.
Patti writes back on May 13: "Yesterday it appeared the nest was empty! That's approx. 2 weeks after hatching. However, both male and female are still hanging around and occasionally look into the nest. That's the wildlife report for now...."
Answer: This seemed a little soon to me, but John K. Terres writes in "The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds" (1980) that incubation in House Finch is 12-16 days and that fledglings leave the nest 11-19 days after hatching. So it seems that fledging took place right on schedule... and faster than I had expected! Rarely do we have a chance to follow the entire nesting cycle. But, now, thanks to Patti, we've all been able to experience it from beginning to end. Thanks!
Send your queries about Pacific Northwest bird identification or behavior or other topics. I'll do my best to figure out what you saw. I'll do some research. Then I'll write an article to answer your question. If you have a certain question, no doubt others will, too, and appreciate knowing the answer. My goal will be to do one Q & A article each week, answering all the questions I receive that week. I'll just use your first name and city in my answers. If you send photos I will likely use them (perhaps cropping and adjusting exposure for the web) so others can see what you are seeing.
Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A
Question: "A house finch built a nest in the wreath on my front door. It is against the glass window on the door so I have been watching the progress of the nesting female. The eggs hatched about a week ago and the mother bird has been attentive and feeding the babies until today. I haven't seen her at all. Has she abandoned the nest? Also, there have been two male house finches hanging around. Any info would be appreciated."
Patti
Patti writes back on May 9: "I've seen her a few times since my original email to you. I'm not really familiar with bird behavior so was worried. The babies appear to be growing so I guess she's feeding them. Are the males involved in feeding the young also?"
Answer: I looked it up and it seems the male in all finches feed the young, sometimes even feed the female while she is incubating.
Patti writes back on May 10: "This is all new to me - and fascinating! This morning, the mother bird is in the nest with the babies -- is that common behavior at this point (10 days give or take after they've hatched)? I greatly appreciate your info!"
Answer: In general, the birds lay one egg a day until the whole clutch is complete before beginning incubation. Thus, all the eggs can hatch the same day. That takes about 3 weeks. Then, about 3 weeks later the young will fledge.
Patti writes back on May 13: "Yesterday it appeared the nest was empty! That's approx. 2 weeks after hatching. However, both male and female are still hanging around and occasionally look into the nest. That's the wildlife report for now...."
Answer: This seemed a little soon to me, but John K. Terres writes in "The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds" (1980) that incubation in House Finch is 12-16 days and that fledglings leave the nest 11-19 days after hatching. So it seems that fledging took place right on schedule... and faster than I had expected! Rarely do we have a chance to follow the entire nesting cycle. But, now, thanks to Patti, we've all been able to experience it from beginning to end. Thanks!
Send your queries about Pacific Northwest bird identification or behavior or other topics. I'll do my best to figure out what you saw. I'll do some research. Then I'll write an article to answer your question. If you have a certain question, no doubt others will, too, and appreciate knowing the answer. My goal will be to do one Q & A article each week, answering all the questions I receive that week. I'll just use your first name and city in my answers. If you send photos I will likely use them (perhaps cropping and adjusting exposure for the web) so others can see what you are seeing.
Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
What bird is that?... Questions and answers
Send your queries about Pacific Northwest bird identification or behavior or other topics. I'll do my best to figure out what you saw. I'll do some research. Then I'll write an article to answer your question. If you have a certain question, no doubt others will, too, and appreciate knowing the answer. My goal will be to do one Q & A article each week, answering all the questions I receive that week. I'll just use your first name and city in my answers. If you send photos I will likely use them (perhaps cropping and adjusting exposure for the web) so others can see what you are seeing.
Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A
Question: "Sending photo of what I am pretty sure is a Purple Finch?? It had a very white belly. Is it: 'plain belly-Purple Finch, striped underside-House Finch'???? Thanks so much for your help."
Betty at Foster Lake, Oregon
Answer: You got it right, Betty! That is a male Purple Finch. One way to help separate Purple and House Finches is that the House Finch has most of its orange-red concentrated on the forehead, upper breast, and rump. As you can see on your photo (click photo for larger view), your bird is generally washed with pinkish-red across the top of the head and all down the back and wing coverts--too much reddish wash for House Finch. Another clue. Purple Finches have a pale eyebrow that wraps around the back of the ear coverts. This is obvious on females, but on the male (including your photo) these are pinkish red, but still obvious. House Finches are rather streaky on the head, but without any obvious pattern wrapping around the ear coverts. This photo of Purple Finch shows the relatively unstreaked flanks. As shown in our previous post, In the backyard... House Finch, these birds have heavily streaked sides and flanks.
Question: "I am sending you a photo I took today--I think there were actually two different birds very similar to this one. This bird was black, not brown, and when it flew it had the red wing bar above the obvious yellow bar. It would seem to me to be a male red-wing but it is so striped as the females."
Betty at Foster Lake, Oregon
Answer: In a previous Question and answer column, Johnny sent in a photo of a female Red-winged Blackbird. Your bird is similar, a bit darker, but showing a bit of red and yellow wing stripe (click photo for larger view). What is it? Well, Betty, this is a first-year male Red-winged Blackbird. It is almost a year old, having hatched out some time last year between May and July. While in many species, birds-of-the-year molt into adult-like plumage in fall and winter, some species--like this Red-winged Blackbird--have a distinctive first-year plumage. You can tell that this bird has fresh, new plumage because the feather edges of the back and wing feathers are all outlined with crisp, pale feather edges. These soon wear off. By mid summer this bird will be solid black throughout and look quite like an older adult male.
Question: "I am attaching a photo I put on flickr for OBOL ID. They confused me because of the different head color I was thinking male/female but found out it was possibly age difference on the birds so I couldn't identify them originally. Another good lesson learned."
Betty at Foster Lake, Oregon
Answer: Thanks for the additional photos, Betty. The bird on the left with the buffy or ruddy eyebrow and throat is an adult female Red-winged Blackbird (click photo for larger view). As it is too early in the year for juvenile blackbirds, the bird on the right is a one-year-old female Red-winged Blackbird. In my previous answer I mentioned the fresh feathers with the crisp, pale edges, remember? Can you see that this right hand bird has fresher feathers? Notice especially the pale edges that almost create wingbars on that younger bird. Then see how those pale tips are not so obvious on the older bird. You know, most experienced birders don't look at these common birds as closely as you have. Well done. We have certainly learned a lot about Red-winged Blackbird plumage. Thank you for your questions, Betty!
Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A
Question: "Sending photo of what I am pretty sure is a Purple Finch?? It had a very white belly. Is it: 'plain belly-Purple Finch, striped underside-House Finch'???? Thanks so much for your help."Betty at Foster Lake, Oregon
Answer: You got it right, Betty! That is a male Purple Finch. One way to help separate Purple and House Finches is that the House Finch has most of its orange-red concentrated on the forehead, upper breast, and rump. As you can see on your photo (click photo for larger view), your bird is generally washed with pinkish-red across the top of the head and all down the back and wing coverts--too much reddish wash for House Finch. Another clue. Purple Finches have a pale eyebrow that wraps around the back of the ear coverts. This is obvious on females, but on the male (including your photo) these are pinkish red, but still obvious. House Finches are rather streaky on the head, but without any obvious pattern wrapping around the ear coverts. This photo of Purple Finch shows the relatively unstreaked flanks. As shown in our previous post, In the backyard... House Finch, these birds have heavily streaked sides and flanks.
Question: "I am sending you a photo I took today--I think there were actually two different birds very similar to this one. This bird was black, not brown, and when it flew it had the red wing bar above the obvious yellow bar. It would seem to me to be a male red-wing but it is so striped as the females."Betty at Foster Lake, Oregon
Answer: In a previous Question and answer column, Johnny sent in a photo of a female Red-winged Blackbird. Your bird is similar, a bit darker, but showing a bit of red and yellow wing stripe (click photo for larger view). What is it? Well, Betty, this is a first-year male Red-winged Blackbird. It is almost a year old, having hatched out some time last year between May and July. While in many species, birds-of-the-year molt into adult-like plumage in fall and winter, some species--like this Red-winged Blackbird--have a distinctive first-year plumage. You can tell that this bird has fresh, new plumage because the feather edges of the back and wing feathers are all outlined with crisp, pale feather edges. These soon wear off. By mid summer this bird will be solid black throughout and look quite like an older adult male.
Question: "I am attaching a photo I put on flickr for OBOL ID. They confused me because of the different head color I was thinking male/female but found out it was possibly age difference on the birds so I couldn't identify them originally. Another good lesson learned."Betty at Foster Lake, Oregon
Answer: Thanks for the additional photos, Betty. The bird on the left with the buffy or ruddy eyebrow and throat is an adult female Red-winged Blackbird (click photo for larger view). As it is too early in the year for juvenile blackbirds, the bird on the right is a one-year-old female Red-winged Blackbird. In my previous answer I mentioned the fresh feathers with the crisp, pale edges, remember? Can you see that this right hand bird has fresher feathers? Notice especially the pale edges that almost create wingbars on that younger bird. Then see how those pale tips are not so obvious on the older bird. You know, most experienced birders don't look at these common birds as closely as you have. Well done. We have certainly learned a lot about Red-winged Blackbird plumage. Thank you for your questions, Betty!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
What bird is that?... Questions and answers
Send your queries about Pacific Northwest bird identification or behavior or other topics. I'll do my best to figure out what you saw. I'll do some research. Then I'll write an article to answer your question. If you have a certain question, no doubt others will, too, and appreciate knowing the answer. My goal will be to do one Q & A article each week, answering all the questions I receive that week. I'll just use your first name and city in my answers. If you send photos I will likely use them (perhaps cropping and adjusting exposure for the web) so others can see what you are seeing.
Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A
This week's questions seem to have repeating themes. All four questions this week came from Washington, two from Bellingham, two were American Robins, and two were birds nesting in evergreen wreaths on the front door!
Question: "Our fresh Christmas [wreath] did great through the winter so we left it hanging on our front door. About 3 to 4 weeks ago I noticed activities of a robin around the wreath. I thought it was picking up tweaks to build its nest until later I found out that it was actually building a nest on the Wreath. There were 3 eggs in the nest and the mother bird has been with them at times... We restrained from using our front door but. The garage door is located in the front of the house. Every time the garage door opens and closes it still alarms the bird and it flies away. With the bird being gone so often and at times for a prolonged period of time would the eggs hatch? I thought about bringing the nest with the wreath to show my daughter's kindergarten class. I hesitated because she hasn't given up her eggs yet. Sound pretty silly questions but please educate me on this. Thank you!"
A mom in Olympia, WA
Answer: Robins are quite tolerant of human disturbance. Once the eggs are laid the mother bird will be less likely to leave the nest. You are correct, though, that the eggs may fail if they cool off too much while the adults are flushed away from their nest. Robins may attempt to renest up to 3 times in a season. It is their way of assuring offspring as, on average, only 2 nestlings live to adulthood to replace the parents every 4-6 years or so--the average life span of an adult bird. One thing to keep in mind, though. It is illegal to possess the nest, eggs, feathers, or body of birds in the US without a license. Thus, taking the old nest to your child's school, while an excellent nature lesson, is a bad citizen lesson! Perhaps you can find a volunteer at a local Audubon Society that has the proper permits and collection for a fun school assembly show-and-tell.
Question: "Hi Greg - I have a wreath on my front porch a small brown/beige bird has made a nest in. There are three blue eggs in the nest. Is there any way to identify what kind of bird it is? Thanks."
Linda in Seattle, WA
Answer: I believe your bird--if not an American Robin as above--is the House Finch. The female is all brown, while the male has a red forehead and breast. The eggs will hatch about 3 weeks after they are laid and the young will leave the nest about 3 weeks after that. See: In the backyard... House Finch.
Question: "I live in Bellingham and have heard a distinct pre dawn song for years. I used to listen it when I was burning the midnight oil in college, when I heard it I knew I needed to kick it up a notch to complete my paper. Recently I was walking to my car at 4:30 and noted the same measured warble. What bird would most likely produce this pre-dawn song in this area? I wish I had a recording of it but I don't."
W in Bellingham, Washington
Answer: The earliest riser and one of the first singers in spring, is the American Robin. See: In the backyard... American Robin. You can find a recording of the song on the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's web site: All about birds: American Robin. Another bird that might sing early in the pre-dawn in April is White-crowned Sparrow.
Question: "Can you help identify a bird for us? We live in a rural area outside Bellingham and have several different types of birds from small to the larger Robins and even ducks and some geese. The bird in question is a "robin" sized greyish bird, that looks in many ways like a dove, with a distinctive black bib on its chest and robin red colors under its wings."
David outside Bellingham, WA
Answer: David, your bird is In the backyard... Northern Flicker.
Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A
This week's questions seem to have repeating themes. All four questions this week came from Washington, two from Bellingham, two were American Robins, and two were birds nesting in evergreen wreaths on the front door!
Question: "Our fresh Christmas [wreath] did great through the winter so we left it hanging on our front door. About 3 to 4 weeks ago I noticed activities of a robin around the wreath. I thought it was picking up tweaks to build its nest until later I found out that it was actually building a nest on the Wreath. There were 3 eggs in the nest and the mother bird has been with them at times... We restrained from using our front door but. The garage door is located in the front of the house. Every time the garage door opens and closes it still alarms the bird and it flies away. With the bird being gone so often and at times for a prolonged period of time would the eggs hatch? I thought about bringing the nest with the wreath to show my daughter's kindergarten class. I hesitated because she hasn't given up her eggs yet. Sound pretty silly questions but please educate me on this. Thank you!"
A mom in Olympia, WA
Answer: Robins are quite tolerant of human disturbance. Once the eggs are laid the mother bird will be less likely to leave the nest. You are correct, though, that the eggs may fail if they cool off too much while the adults are flushed away from their nest. Robins may attempt to renest up to 3 times in a season. It is their way of assuring offspring as, on average, only 2 nestlings live to adulthood to replace the parents every 4-6 years or so--the average life span of an adult bird. One thing to keep in mind, though. It is illegal to possess the nest, eggs, feathers, or body of birds in the US without a license. Thus, taking the old nest to your child's school, while an excellent nature lesson, is a bad citizen lesson! Perhaps you can find a volunteer at a local Audubon Society that has the proper permits and collection for a fun school assembly show-and-tell.
Question: "Hi Greg - I have a wreath on my front porch a small brown/beige bird has made a nest in. There are three blue eggs in the nest. Is there any way to identify what kind of bird it is? Thanks."
Linda in Seattle, WA
Answer: I believe your bird--if not an American Robin as above--is the House Finch. The female is all brown, while the male has a red forehead and breast. The eggs will hatch about 3 weeks after they are laid and the young will leave the nest about 3 weeks after that. See: In the backyard... House Finch.
Question: "I live in Bellingham and have heard a distinct pre dawn song for years. I used to listen it when I was burning the midnight oil in college, when I heard it I knew I needed to kick it up a notch to complete my paper. Recently I was walking to my car at 4:30 and noted the same measured warble. What bird would most likely produce this pre-dawn song in this area? I wish I had a recording of it but I don't."
W in Bellingham, Washington
Answer: The earliest riser and one of the first singers in spring, is the American Robin. See: In the backyard... American Robin. You can find a recording of the song on the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's web site: All about birds: American Robin. Another bird that might sing early in the pre-dawn in April is White-crowned Sparrow.
Question: "Can you help identify a bird for us? We live in a rural area outside Bellingham and have several different types of birds from small to the larger Robins and even ducks and some geese. The bird in question is a "robin" sized greyish bird, that looks in many ways like a dove, with a distinctive black bib on its chest and robin red colors under its wings."
David outside Bellingham, WA
Answer: David, your bird is In the backyard... Northern Flicker.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
What bird is that?... Questions and answers
You have questions. Lots of questions!
This article starts a new feature. Send your queries about Pacific Northwest bird identification or behavior or other topics. I'll do my best to figure out what you saw. I'll do some research. Then I'll write an article to answer your question. If you have a certain question, no doubt others will, too, and appreciate knowing the answer. My goal will be to do one Q & A article each week, answering all the questions I receive that week. I'll just use your first name and city in my answers. If you send photos I will likely use them (perhaps cropping and adjusting exposure for the web) so others can see what you are seeing.
Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A
To get this started, and serve as a template for future Q & A's, Johnny in Sandy, Oregon agreed to help with the first batch of questions and he even supplied photos. Thanks, Johnny. Here we go...
"I had the arrival of a group of about 8 or 9 birds that I believe to be Pine Siskins, the day after the first Lesser Goldfinches came to my Njer seed feeder. The Goldfinches have not returned since the new guys took over. And they are constantly bickering and trying to keep everyone else from eating (see photos). Also these guys really put away the grocerys. They eat, go get a drink and eat some more. I don't know how they can fly the eat so much. Are they always like this, or is my flok simply a bunch of hooligans?"
Johnny
Sandy, Oregon
The tiny, goldfinch-sized Pine Siskins are heavily streaked with a strongly notched tail. In flight you can see the yellow wing stripe (Click photo for larger view). They are irruptive in nature, following food sources (seeds and budding trees); they can be unpredictably abundant one year, but perhaps absent or uncommon the next. They breed in the pine forests in mountains in the Pacifc NW, but descend to the lowland regularly in spring for the tree and flower buds. They may occasionally remain through the summer in the lowlands to breed if there is a reliable food source. They are highly social throughout the year, foraging in large flocks, often driving other larger birds from the feeder. In a few weeks they will likely disappear to the mountains. For more information, see Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's web site on the Pine Siskin Irruption of 2008-09 that is happening primarily in the East. This article has many additional interesting facts about Pine Siskins.
"I had several new birds in my back yard yesterday. This one is a dead ringer for the female version of the Red Winged Blackbird, (even though it doesn't look at all like a black bird to me) that is on my backyard birds chart. Is It a Blackbird?"
Johnny
Sandy, Oregon
This is, indeed, a female Red-winged Blackbird. Although it may look like a large sparrow at first, its shape reveals its identity. The long, very pointed bill and flat forehead is common to the blackbirds, cowbirds, meadowlarks, and orioles, which are all in the same family. Sparrows have shorter, conical beaks and most have rather rounded heads. I will unabashedly point you to my Red-winged Blackbird photo album. Compare the head and bill shape of the males with the females. Then go over to my Song Sparrow photo album and compare the bill shape to that of the blackbirds.
"I had both of these guys in my yard yesterday. I'm pretty sure the yellow one is just a House Finch, but the other bird doesn't look like any I've been able to find. Look closely at the color around the eye."
Johnny
Sandy, Oregon
You are correct, Johnny, these are House Finches. The male is yellowish-orange and within normal range of color variation for this species. See our recent article on House Finches. The other bird is a female. I'm no expert on this, but the female appears to be suffering from the disease, avian conjunctivitis. Birds suffering from this disease display "red, swollen, watery, or crusty eyes; in extreme cases the eyes are so swollen or crusted over that the birds are virtually blind." This disease was first noted in the Eastern population of House Finches in the Washington D.C. area in 1994. It broke out in the West in 2004. For more information see the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's web page, House Finch Disease Survey.
This article starts a new feature. Send your queries about Pacific Northwest bird identification or behavior or other topics. I'll do my best to figure out what you saw. I'll do some research. Then I'll write an article to answer your question. If you have a certain question, no doubt others will, too, and appreciate knowing the answer. My goal will be to do one Q & A article each week, answering all the questions I receive that week. I'll just use your first name and city in my answers. If you send photos I will likely use them (perhaps cropping and adjusting exposure for the web) so others can see what you are seeing.
Send questions to me using this link: PNWBB Q & A
To get this started, and serve as a template for future Q & A's, Johnny in Sandy, Oregon agreed to help with the first batch of questions and he even supplied photos. Thanks, Johnny. Here we go...
"I had the arrival of a group of about 8 or 9 birds that I believe to be Pine Siskins, the day after the first Lesser Goldfinches came to my Njer seed feeder. The Goldfinches have not returned since the new guys took over. And they are constantly bickering and trying to keep everyone else from eating (see photos). Also these guys really put away the grocerys. They eat, go get a drink and eat some more. I don't know how they can fly the eat so much. Are they always like this, or is my flok simply a bunch of hooligans?"Johnny
Sandy, Oregon
The tiny, goldfinch-sized Pine Siskins are heavily streaked with a strongly notched tail. In flight you can see the yellow wing stripe (Click photo for larger view). They are irruptive in nature, following food sources (seeds and budding trees); they can be unpredictably abundant one year, but perhaps absent or uncommon the next. They breed in the pine forests in mountains in the Pacifc NW, but descend to the lowland regularly in spring for the tree and flower buds. They may occasionally remain through the summer in the lowlands to breed if there is a reliable food source. They are highly social throughout the year, foraging in large flocks, often driving other larger birds from the feeder. In a few weeks they will likely disappear to the mountains. For more information, see Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's web site on the Pine Siskin Irruption of 2008-09 that is happening primarily in the East. This article has many additional interesting facts about Pine Siskins.
"I had several new birds in my back yard yesterday. This one is a dead ringer for the female version of the Red Winged Blackbird, (even though it doesn't look at all like a black bird to me) that is on my backyard birds chart. Is It a Blackbird?"Johnny
Sandy, Oregon
This is, indeed, a female Red-winged Blackbird. Although it may look like a large sparrow at first, its shape reveals its identity. The long, very pointed bill and flat forehead is common to the blackbirds, cowbirds, meadowlarks, and orioles, which are all in the same family. Sparrows have shorter, conical beaks and most have rather rounded heads. I will unabashedly point you to my Red-winged Blackbird photo album. Compare the head and bill shape of the males with the females. Then go over to my Song Sparrow photo album and compare the bill shape to that of the blackbirds.
"I had both of these guys in my yard yesterday. I'm pretty sure the yellow one is just a House Finch, but the other bird doesn't look like any I've been able to find. Look closely at the color around the eye."Johnny
Sandy, Oregon
You are correct, Johnny, these are House Finches. The male is yellowish-orange and within normal range of color variation for this species. See our recent article on House Finches. The other bird is a female. I'm no expert on this, but the female appears to be suffering from the disease, avian conjunctivitis. Birds suffering from this disease display "red, swollen, watery, or crusty eyes; in extreme cases the eyes are so swollen or crusted over that the birds are virtually blind." This disease was first noted in the Eastern population of House Finches in the Washington D.C. area in 1994. It broke out in the West in 2004. For more information see the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's web page, House Finch Disease Survey.
Monday, April 6, 2009
In the backyard... House Finch
House Finch, Sawyer Park Bend, Oregon on 13 June 2008 by Greg Gillson.The House Finch enlivens any backyard with the bright red plumage and cheerful rollicking song of the male, and the high-energy antics of the flock at the bird feeder.
Today this species is found in towns across extreme southern Canada and southward across the United States to southern Mexico (Oaxaca). Most birders, however, would be surprised to learn that 70 years ago this finch was restricted to the dry lands of the West. Prior to the 1940's the range of this bird was the arid lands of southeastern Washington, eastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and Wyoming, south through California and New Mexico, and through Mexico.
Wherever towns sprouted up in the West, the House Finch followed. In addition, the House Finch was introduced in the East in the 1940's, and it spread there, as well. Today they can be found in all 48 contiguous states in the US.
While the historical range of House Finch included the Pacific NW, they were not common west of the Cascades until the 1960's, where they are now abundant. They are found in most open habitats, only missing from the deep forests, higher mountains, and extensive grasslands.
Male House Finches are grayish brown above and pale below with strong brown flank streaking, and weak buffy wingbars. Males have red foreheads that wrap around on the eyebrow, red rumps, and red on the throat that often extends to the center of the chest. The amount of red varies between males, as does the exact color, ranging from yellowish to bright red, but usually appears more orangish-red than the look-a-like male Purple and Cassin's Finches, which lack the strong flank streaking. The whole head and shoulders are more pinkish-red on these latter species.
Females are similar to males but lack any red; their faces are rather evenly streaked, without strong eyebrow, ear covert, or moustache stripes that the very similar female Purple and Cassin's Finches show.
House Finches are attracted to seed feeders and may be the primary feeder species throughout the summer in most areas of the Pacific Northwest. Likewise, they form flocks of up to 50 birds in winter, and are a major component of backyard birds in the region.
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