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Purple finches measure around 12 to 16cm (4.7 to 6.3in) in length with a wingspan of around 22 to 26cm (8.7 to 10.2in). Adult male Cassin's Finches have a brighter red crown with a strong peak, and less streaking on the underparts than male Purple Finches. Often forages in the upper parts of trees eating mainly seeds and soft buds of evergreen trees and elms, tulip poplars, maples, and others. These three finch species can be challenging to differentiate due to their similar appearances. However, they’ll be more tempted if you provide a birdhouse with a small enough entrance hole to block predators.
Purple Finch Similar Species Comparison
Birder's Eye View: Forecast predicts 3 finch species to fly into Coastal Georgia - Bluffton Today
Birder's Eye View: Forecast predicts 3 finch species to fly into Coastal Georgia.
Posted: Sun, 13 Dec 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Additionally, House finches have white wing bars which are absent for the Purple finch. House finches occupy most of the US, some of Mexico and small areas of southern Canada. They were much more common in the western US until the 50s, 60s and 70s, when they began to spread rapidly in the eastern US too. During summer, they eat fruits and seeds from native plants, along with bugs.
Similar SpeciesPine Siskin
First of all, female Purple and House Finches don’t have the red hue that characterizes their male counterparts. You’ll notice that House Finch males and females have streaked bellies, flanks, and backs. Both genders of House Finches have dark brown streaking on their lower bellies and undertail coverts. You can see somewhat indistinct white bars on the House Finch’s wings when perched, but Purple Finches have obviously rosy-reddish wing bars. This member of the finch family boasts a bright red coloring on the head and upper body, making it an attractive sight amidst the foliage. Both the Purple Finch and the House Finch belong to the same taxonomic order and share the same order designation.
What is the range of House and Purple finches?
Distinguishing a female purple finch from a female house finch is a little trickier. While they have the same colors on their bodies, the female house finch is mostly brown and displays some white feathers on her back and sides. By contrast, a purple finch from the same gender has white streaks at the bottom of her cheeks and over the eyes. As is the case with most other species, the male house finch tends to be a little bigger compared to the female house finch. However, purple finches are a little larger than their counterparts in both genders.
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Both species have an average life span of 11 years, but it can go up to 14 years. Benefits aside, House Finches can sometimes be a tad aggressive toward other bird species when it comes to protecting food and nesting resources. They’ve adapted well to urban and suburban environments, and their numbers are generally stable. And while Purple Finches are not shy of backyard bird feeders, they tend to inhabit more woodland areas. You might spot these birds in dense forested areas along the West Coast of the U.S. into southern Canada as well as the American Northeast in breeding seasons. While some populations, especially those in the northern parts of their range, may migrate southward during the winter, others may stay in their breeding areas year-round.
What’s the difference between a female House Finch and a female Purple Finch?
Unfortunately, the House Finch is not typically designated as the official state bird of any U.S. state. Purple Finches are agile foragers, often hopping and climbing among branches in search of seeds and insects. Their foraging is meticulous, and they extract seeds from cones with precision.
The eggs are nearly an inch long, weigh 4.2 grams, and are pale green-blue with some dark red speckling. In the winter, it can occur with the House Finch in wooded and edge habitats on the Pacific coast, in southern Arizona, and in much of southern Canada and the eastern USA. This species also lives in Hawaii where it has become a common bird of garden and edge habitats. The Purple Finch acts in a similar fashion but is more a bird of forested habitats and doesn’t form flocks as large as the House Finch. It can also harass potential predators and is preyed on by various animals including squirrels, Blue Jays, Merlins, Sharp-shinned and Coopers Hawks, domestic cats, and other species. When a group of House finches finds a predator, they usually mob or harass the animal from a safe distance.
Which is more Common, House finches or Purple finches?
The nest is usually 12 feet high, and she lays two to seven, pale blue eggs with purple speckling. The nest is 3.9 inches in diameter and the inside cup has a depth of nearly an inch. Both species also enjoy nectar but unlike hummingbirds that sip nectar from the flower, the Purple Finch crushes the base of flowers to get at the nectar inside. It can forage on the ground but usually feeds on seeds, fruit, and buds on the outer edges of branches in trees, sometimes, high above the ground.
The male occasionally relieves the female from incubation duties by bringing her food. In their natural habitat of coniferous and mixed forests, Purple Finches often feed on the seeds of pine cones and other tree seeds. House Finch eggs are generally pale blue or greenish with variable markings. The eggs may have small speckles or fine lines, creating a mottled appearance. The clutch size for House Finches is typically larger than that of Purple Finches, ranging from 2 to 6 eggs, and occasionally even more.
They’re spotted as far north as southern Canada and as far south as Mexico. The House Finch, in contrast, appears slightly smaller and more slender than the Purple Finch. The bill is more straight and less pointed than that of the Purple Finch. On the other hand, as House Finches have a more slender appearance with slightly longer tails, they look noticeably smaller. The female House Finch has a plainer face than the boldly streaked face of the female Purple Finch.
While the first are almost always social, the second will feed and live alone from spring to fall. In their breeding season, purple finches can be very territorial, so they mostly live alone or with their pair. When breeding season comes along, males sing almost constantly to attract the attention of females. House finches are red or red-orange and the color is usually limited to their heads and their upper chest. The rest of the body can be anything from orange and yellow to light brown.
Male purple and house finch babies resemble adult females in that they haven’t developed their red or pink coloring yet. When it comes to their shape, there are also differences in terms of house finch eggs and purple finch eggs. The first is speckled and a little pointy at one end, whereas the second is rounder and doesn’t have any spots on their surface. Females usually sing a warbling song that lasts for up to 2 minutes. In males, the iconic coloration is a rich raspberry-red, extending across the head, back, and throat with brown patterns on the wings. Females have a more subdued brown color with streaks, offering effective camouflage during nesting.
During the breeding season, it can be found in the coniferous and mixed forests of Canada and the northern United States. Its range extends from Alaska and Canada down through the western and eastern parts of the United States. So, female Purple finches can often be identified by their defined brown streaky plumage. They also have white marks above each eye, and their faces contrast with their chests. Female House finches don’t have particularly well-defined patterns and are similarly patterned all over.
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