Educate Yourself About the House finch and Other Finches
House Finch
The House Finch has bright red face and breast, brownish back with streaked flanks, short, rounded wings, and longer tail than related finches. Its length is 5-6in (13-15cm)
Its wingspan is 9in (23cm) Its voice is a bright song of loose and disjointed, frequently ending in harsh nasal “where” or “che-urrr”, with musical notes. Their eggs are pale green-gray, blotched with purples, black, and brown, with 1 clutch consisting of 4-5 or (2-6) eggs. The female incubates for around 12-14 days, and fledging time is about 11-19 days. Both male and female feed their young. The female is dull grayish-brown with light brown streaks.
The eastern House Finch used to be common in western towns, ranches, canyons, and scrublands, but is now common all over the Continental United States. In 1940, they were once sold as pets, or as the story goes, a Long-Island pet-store owner had an illegal stock of finches, and released them over the city, to avoid prosecution. From this the population increased and spread fast westward, to meet the western population 50 years later.
The eastern population of House Finches has adapted to their new range, by evolving a larger bill, witch could be the reason to be able to crack sunflower seeds. They have also become a more short-distant migrant, and like other northern birds, the male is found to stay closer to the nesting range, than the females.
The House Finch is a bright energetic bird, and very sociable, and if you have one visiting bird, dozens will follow. The finch family is very large witch includes grosbeaks, sparrows, and other seed-eating kinds. Most people think of the beautiful colored finches, when they are brought up, but most of the finches that visit your lovely bird feeding garden, will be the more common streaky brown ones.
You might think that finches live on seeds alone, but that is not so, they enjoy tree seeds and buds, weed seeds like dandelion, and thistle, which they locate in old fields, and vacant lots. They are especially fond of fruit juices, and can be found to be a pest in a farmer’s orchard, pecking at ripe fruits, they have even learned how to raid hummingbird feeders, in your lovely bird feeding garden.
You will find that some of the finches have a more colorful plumage, perhaps due to some males having a more diverse diet. If the female is given a choice, she will choose an older more colorful bird, since younger birds seem to have a dull colored plumage, and are more inexperienced in raising broods.
Both the male and female Purple Finch will build their nest, and in their eastern part of their range they will usually build the nest in a conifer. The western Purple Finches prefers to build them in deciduous trees, conifers, or shrubs, placing the nest about 6-40ft (2-12m) from the ground.
The cupped shaped nest consists of twigs, grass, moss, and sometimes snake skin, and is lined with fine grass wool and horse hair, if available, to make it extra cozy for new arrivals. Be careful this upcoming nesting season, to watch out for nesting House Finches in your hanging flower pots, before you water them, it would be sad if the new little arrivals got all wet.
If you like to attract the House Finch, and other finches to your lovely bird feeding garden, fill your hanging bird feeders, and bird tables with black-oil sunflower seeds witch they love, plus millet and niger seeds. Plant trees like juniper, spruce, dogwood, maple, sumac, Tuliptree, birch, Blackgum, and Sweetgum.
