House FinchĪ few more notes: Color is helpful, but it varies among individuals, so use caution. Females and young males of both species are simply brown and white, and can be especially tricky. Click or tap on the dots on the photos and let them guide you. With a little practice, you can learn the clearest field marks for each of these species. To see each bird's range, visit our online field guide, or download our free Audubon bird guide app.Įven experts get flummoxed by finches, but don’t despair. Meanwhile, P urple Finches nest in Canada, along the Pacific, and in the Northeast. In winter they migrate as far south as Florida, but they don't typically visit the Interior West at any time of year. House Finches are common and widespread across most of North America, including Hawaii. So how can we tell them apart?įirst, consult a map. A red and brown bird at your feeder might be either one throughout much of the United States. But that’s only the start of the confusion around these two doppelgangers. To help decrease the spread of avian diseases, be sure to regularly clean your feeders with bleach and rake underneath the feeders to remove old seed and droppings.Purple Finches aren’t purple, and House Finches don’t stick to houses. If you see a finch with red, swollen, runny or crusty eyes, report the bird to Project FeederWatch. If you want to check on a nest regularly, make certain no one is watching you or else you will inadvertently lead predators to the nest and help cause the demise of the chicks. An interesting observation came out of that study: ravens, crows, jays, cats and other predators take note when a human regularly observes nests. In tandem with the House Finch eye disease study, Cornell also conducted the House Finch Nest Survey to determine whether nesting success changed since the disease began. The survey lasted 15 years, but data continues to be collected through Project FeederWatch. There are few birds with the disease during the summer, but the number of diseased birds peaks in the spring and fall. The results of the study indicate that the disease varies seasonally. Several species are known to have been exposed to the disease, including Black-capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches and Wood Thrushes, but other species do not always show signs of illness after exposure. The disease killed half of the House Finches in eastern North America, but it has decreased to 5 – 10% of the population in recent years. House Finch Eye Disease is caused by a bacteria that causes a type of conjunctivitis leaving the bird listless, mostly blind and vulnerable to predators. In 1994, Cornell began conducting a survey to track a bacterial disease that affects House Finches across the country. At feeders, they prefer thistle, sunflower and safflower. House Finches are strict vegetarians, eating seeds, buds and fruit throughout the year, and feeding the same vegetarian diet to their chicks. Today, they are widespread with an estimated population of up to a billion birds. The birds thrived and spread across the eastern U.S. In order to escape prosecution for the illegal pet trade, the store released the birds into the wild. In 1940 illegally caged House Finches were being sold as “Hollywood Finches” by a pet store in New York. Until 1940, House Finches were only found in the western portion of the United States. House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) Author: Alexandra (Alex) Forsythe
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