The released birds greatly expanded their eastern range in the ensuing decades. When word spread about possible prosecution, many sellers opened the cage doors and let the evidence fly away. An activist named Richard Pough saw these birds being sold in New York and knew what they were, so he began to report the sellers to the authorities. People illegally trapped them and shipped them to the eastern United States, where they were sold in pet shops and department stores. They are a seed-eating species who sings a lot, and they became popular as cage birds during the early part of the 1900s. They are native to the western United States. House Finches are now one of the most widespread species in North America, with some estimates of their population exceeding a billion individuals. House Male with Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis - Photo by Ashley Bradford They frequently go into the stream to bathe and drink. House Finches can be seen anywhere from the ground to the tops of trees. Purple Finches generally stay high in the trees, but they sometimes will forage lower. However, in 2020, there were numerous fall sightings. In most years, Purple Finches are not seen at Monticello during the fall. Both Purple and House Finches visit local bird feeders.įall: House Finches can be seen throughout the fall. The House Finch is a non-native, year-round resident from the western United States. A small flurry of them sometimes passes through Monticello around the third and fourth weeks in April. They breed in Canada, the northern United States, and the Appalachian Mountains. We hope you found this post helpful! Click here to see the video version.Spring: Some Purple Finches winter in the Washington metro area, but they are uncommon at Monticello Park. Female Purple finches will have a bright eye stripe and defined streaking on their Chet and underside. A Purple Finch will have little to n dark streaking on their lower underside. Their colore will appear to wash over most of the body leading to their wing bars also being rosy looking. They will have a thick and straighter looking bill and will be a wine stained color. Male Purple Finches will be bulkier with a more crested appearance and a deeper notch in their tail. House Finch females will not have a light eye stripe and will have blurred streaking on their chest and underside. Last but not least, House Finches will have brown streaking on their lower underside. Their upper bill will be more curved and they will be red, orange, or yellowish with the color only being on the head or chest. House Finch males will be slimmer with a rounded head and smaller notch in their tail. Most birders will encounter one or both of these species at some point, and knowing the fine ID points of each can be instrumental in discerning between them. The female House Finch will also have a more blurred looking chest and underside while the Purple Finch will have more defined streaking. The female House Finch has little to no marking by the eye as opposed to the female Purple Finch that has a bright eye stripe. The females of these two species can also be distinguished with field markings.
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