House finches are small songbirds native to the western United States that have become widely distributed across North America over the last century. Understanding where house finches live provides insight into their range expansion and adaptability to human habitats.
Native Range
House finches are native to the western United States and Mexico. Their original native range stretched from Oregon and Montana south to southern Mexico.
Within their native range, house finches occupy a variety of open habitats including deserts, grasslands, farms, orchards, and urban and suburban areas. They are found at elevations ranging from sea level up to around 10,000 feet.
Introduced Range
House finches were introduced to the eastern United States in the 1940s. A small number of birds were released on Long Island by pet dealers after failed attempts to sell them as “Hollywood finches”. These birds quickly established breeding populations and began expanding their range.
Today, house finches are found across nearly all of North America. They can be found from southern Canada south throughout the eastern United States, Central America, and Mexico. They have also been introduced to Hawaii.
The house finch’s ability to thrive in human-altered environments has allowed it to successfully expand its range across the continent. They nest near buildings and readily visit bird feeders.
Favored Habitats
Within their broad introduced and native ranges, house finches inhabit a variety of open environments including:
- Urban and suburban areas
- Orchards and farms
- Deserts
- Grasslands
- Open woodlands
- Riparian areas
House finches largely avoid dense forest interior habitat. Their ability to live alongside humans allows them to thrive in areas with housing developments, parks, golf courses, and other urban green spaces.
Urban and Suburban Areas
House finches are strongly associated with human development across their range. They are able to exploit urban and suburban habitats that provide access to food sources (such as bird feeders), nesting sites, and roosting areas.
Some specific urban and suburban areas inhabited by house finches include:
- Residential neighborhoods
- Parks and gardens
- Golf courses
- School and business campuses
- Zoos
- Cemeteries
Orchards and Farms
House finches often inhabit orchards and farms due to the combination of food sources, open habitat, and nesting sites these areas provide. They are attracted to:
- Fruit orchards
- Berry farms
- Vegetable farms
- Ranches
- Shade trees
- Barns and other outbuildings
Arid Environments
House finches occur across a variety of arid environments including deserts and semidesert areas within their native and introduced ranges. Desert habitat types used by house finches include:
- Sonoran Desert
- Mojave Desert
- Chihuahuan Desert
- Great Basin Desert
They are found around human settlements, oases, riparian areas, and desert washes within desert regions.
Grasslands
House finches inhabit various types of grassland ecosystems including:
- Shortgrass prairie
- Mixed-grass prairie
- Shrub-steppe
- Alpine meadows
They tend to stick to grasslands in proximity to some trees or human infrastructure for nesting and roosting.
Riparian Areas
House finches live along riparian corridors and oases within desert regions. They are attracted to areas that provide:
- Water
- Vegetation
- Food sources
- Nesting cavities
Some specific riparian habitats used by house finches include washes, streams, irrigation canals, floodplains, and wetlands.
Range Maps
The following maps help illustrate the native and introduced ranges of house finches across North America:
Native Range
Image source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Introduced Range
Image source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Population and Conservation Status
House finch populations are thriving across their native and introduced ranges. They have proven extremely adaptable to human-altered environments.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the global breeding population is estimated at over 268 million individuals. Their numbers today far exceed what they were before house finches were introduced to eastern North America.
The IUCN Red List categorizes the house finch as a species of Least Concern. Their populations are stable or increasing, and they inhabit a wide global range.
Population Trends
The following table summarizes house finch population trends in recent decades:
Time Period | Population Trend |
---|---|
1966-2015 | Increased by >1,000% |
1980-2016 | Increased by 89% |
1966-2019 | Increased by 247% |
These substantial population increases reflect the house finch’s rapid expansion and success across the eastern United States following its introduction.
Conclusion
In summary, house finches naturally occurred in western North America but have been widely introduced across eastern parts of the continent over the last century. They thrive around human development and altered environments. House finches inhabit urban and suburban areas, orchards and farms, deserts, grasslands, and other open habitats across their broad geographic range. Their ability to live alongside humans has allowed their populations to prosper and expand.