A small grayish-brown finch — males have variable red plumage depending on diet. Originally only in western US but introduced to NYC in 1939 and spread rapidly across the east.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The house finch is a North American bird in the finch family. It is native to Mexico and southwestern United States, but has since been introduced to the eastern part of North America and Hawaiʻi; it is now found year-round in almost all parts of the United States and most of Mexico, with breeding grounds well into Canada as far north as northern Alberta. There are estimated to be 40 million house finches across North America, making it the second-most populous finch, just behind the American goldfinch. The house finch and the other two American rosefinches are placed in the genus Haemorhous.
Source: Wikipedia — House finch Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Male has a red (sometimes orange or yellow) forehead, breast, and rump with brown-streaked flanks and belly; female plain grayish-brown with blurry streaking and a plain face.
Similar species. Purple and Cassin's finches are more raspberry/crimson and lack the heavy brown belly streaking; House Finch males have streaky flanks and a squared (not peaked) head.
Voice. A long, exuberant, warbling song ending in a buzzy downslurred note; call a sweet 'wheat'.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Seeds (specialized for many species), occasional insects.
Behavior. A highly adaptable finch, native to the West but now abundant across the continent after eastern releases; a common feeder and city bird that feeds almost entirely on seeds, buds, and fruit.
§ Range
Across the US
§ Habitat
Suburbs, parks, agricultural areas
§ Threats
Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis epidemic ongoing since 1994, feeder transmission.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the house finch is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Clean feeders weekly. Don't feed seed contaminated by mold. Skip pesticides.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — House finch
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Haemorhous mexicanus
- IUCN Red List — search for Haemorhous mexicanus
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Haemorhous mexicanus
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
