The House Finch is a small songbird native to the western United States that has become established across North America. Male House Finches are easy to identify by their bright red heads and breast feathers. Females lack the bright red coloration and have brown and white striped plumage. House Finches can be found in a variety of habitats including backyards, parks, and agricultural areas. Learning the signs of a House Finch can help bird watchers identify and enjoy these common birds.
What does a House Finch look like?
The House Finch is a small-sized finch, measuring 4.7 to 6.3 inches in length with a wingspan of 7.9 to 9.8 inches. Males have bright red plumage on their heads, upper breast, and rump. Their bellies and flanks are white or pale brown. Females lack the bright red coloring and instead have brown and white streaked plumage all over. Both sexes have conical shaped bills suited for eating seeds. Juvenile birds resemble females but have darker streaking.
Some key identification signs of House Finches include:
– Bright red head and upper breast in males
– Brown and white streaked plumage in females
– Small size with conical seed-eating bill
– Notched tail feathers
– White wing bars on closed wings
What do House Finch calls and songs sound like?
House Finches have a complex array of vocalizations used for communication. Their calls are musical and twittering. Their song is a long warbled sequence of notes ending in a trill. Here are some of the sounds to listen for:
– Contact calls: A “mit-mit” or “dit-dit” call used by flocks to stay in contact.
– Begging calls: Nestlings give rhythmic, buzzy calls when begging for food.
– Alarm calls: A fast “zeeeep” note signals danger or threats.
– Flight calls: A “plit” or “plink” call given during flight.
– Songs: A long 2-10 second warbling song with a final trill. Varies regionally.
Males sing frequently from high perches during breeding season to attract females and defend territories. Females may also sing but not as elaborately. House Finch songs are complex and musical, sounding upbeat or even jubilant.
Where can House Finches be found?
House Finches are found across most of North America in a variety of open and semi-open habitats, including:
– Backyards
– Parks and gardens
– Suburban areas
– Agricultural lands
– Deserts
– Open woodlands
They are common bird feeder visitors in many areas. West of the Rocky Mountains, they prefer lower elevations but can be found up to 10,000 feet. East of the Rockies, they can be found at all elevations.
House Finches nest in cavities in trees, bird houses, or building crevices. They may also nest in thick vegetation. They prefer to stay close to human development. The range map shows their extensive distribution:
House Finch Range Map |
What is the habitat of the House Finch?
House Finches live in a variety of open and semi-open habitats, mainly in proximity to humans. Typical habitats include:
– Urban and suburban areas: House Finches are common in areas with houses, parks, gardens, and bird feeders. They often nest on buildings.
– Farmlands and orchards: They feed on seeds and fruits in agricultural areas and orchards.
– Deserts and open woodlands: In natural areas they inhabit desert scrub lands and open pine-oak woodlands.
– Roadsides and fields: They forage on seeds of weeds and grasses in open disturbed areas.
– Coastal areas: They may inhabit beaches, coastal scrub, and chaparral habitats.
– Mountains: Up to 10,000 feet in elevation in the West. At all elevations in the East.
Ideal finch habitat provides plenty of seeds from plants, grasses, agricultural crops and feeders. Access to water is also important.
What does the House Finch eat?
House Finches are primarily seed-eating birds. Their conical bill shape is adapted for cracking open seeds and grains. Their diet consists of:
– Seeds: From annual grasses and weeds, agricultural crops, fruiting plants. Also eats commercial bird seed.
– Grains: Flocks feed heavily on grain crops like wheat, sorghum, rice, oats, and corn.
– Fruits: Such as berries and cherries. Occasionally nectar.
– Insects: Beetles, aphids, caterpillars. Mostly feeds nestlings insects for protein.
– Spider mites: House Finches help control pest mites in orchards.
– Human food scraps: Bird feeders, spillage from grain crops or feed lots.
House Finches forage opportunistically on open ground or in shrubs and trees. They feed in large flocks of up to 100 birds outside of breeding season.
When is House Finch breeding season?
House Finches begin breeding early in the spring. The exact timing varies across their range:
– West coast: Breeding starts as early as January to February.
– Plains states: Starts in March. Peak is April to May.
– Midwest and Eastern states: April to early-May through July.
– Southern states: Earlier from March to June.
– Northern states: May to July during the summer.
Males sing often through the spring and summer to attract females. Nest building takes 6-8 days. Females lay 3-5 eggs and incubate them for 12-14 days. Nestlings fledge after about 2 weeks in the nest. House Finches often raise 2-3 broods per season.
How do House Finches build their nests?
The female House Finch builds an enclosed, cup-shaped nest entirely out of vegetation. Nest locations include:
– Tree cavities or crevices: Either natural or woodpecker holes.
– Bird houses: Readily use provided nest boxes.
– Building structures: Eaves, window sills, porch lights.
– Shrubs and trees: In thick branches or vines.
Nest materials include:
– Twigs: Form the base and frame of the nest.
– Grasses: Soften the interior cup of the nest.
– Plant fibers: From leaves, stems, bark strips, even paper or string.
– Hair or feathers: Line the interior of the nest cup.
The nests are around 4 inches wide and 2 inches high when complete. Females weave the materials into a tidy, sturdy cup secured with spider silk or plant resins.
How many eggs does the female House Finch lay?
What are some common House Finch predators?House Finches face predation threats from a variety of natural predators. Common predators of eggs, nestlings, and even adult finches include:
– Snakes: Rat Snakes, Garter Snakes, and others take eggs.
– Hawks: Sharped-shinned Hawks are a major predator.
– Falcons: Merlins and American Kestrels prey on finches.
– Owls: Screech Owls and other small owls eat adult finches.
– Jays: Acorn Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Scrub Jays raid nests.
– Crows: American Crows plunder nests.
– Squirrels: Tree Squirrels eat eggs and take over nest sites.
– Cats: Domestic and feral cats kill many adult finches.
– Sparrows: House Sparrows compete and may kill finches.
– Mites: Poultry mites fed on nestlings.
House Finches may abandon nests if disturbed by predators. They help protect nests by nesting in hidden sites and building durable nests secured with sticky resins.
What diseases and parasites affect House Finches?
House Finches are susceptible to a few diseases and parasites, including:
– House Finch Eye Disease: A bacterial infection (Mycoplasma gallisepticum) causes severe conjunctivitis infections around the eyes. It spread rapidly across eastern populations in the 1990s from poultry.
– Avian pox: Finches contract a mild form causing wart-like growths on eyes, beak, legs. Transmitted by mosquitoes and feeders.
– Salmonella – Rare intestinal bacterial disease spread at feeders.
– Avian malaria – Parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes.
– Lice – Chewing lice that feed on feathers and skin. More common in winter.
– Mites – Poultry mites feed on nestlings. Can kill young. Spread by house sparrows.
– Nematodes – Stomach worms transmitted by insects or snails.
– Coccidia – Intestinal protozoan parasite.
Disease risk is increased by things like crowded feeders, accumulations of droppings, stagnant water, and nest material shortages which can force unsanitary nests. Maintaining clean feeders, providing nest material, and controlling parasites protects finch health.
Is the House Finch endangered?
No, House Finches are classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List with a stable, thriving global population. They are abundant across North America following an explosive eastward expansion during the 1940s-1990s.
Some key evidence that House Finches are not endangered:
– Global population estimate: Over 267 million individuals and growing.
– Population trend: Increasing over the past 50 years across North America.
– Introduced eastward: Successfully introduced to eastern North America.
– Adaptability: Can thrive in human environments.
– Range: 5,400,000 square kilometers and expanding.
– Threats: No major threats to overall population.
– Conservation: Not a species of conservation concern.
While House Finch populations collapsed in Hawaii in the 2000s, the abundant mainland finches compensated for this decline. House Finches remain one of the most widespread and successful bird species in North America.
How can you attract House Finches to your backyard?
Here are some tips to attract vibrant House Finches to your yard:
– Offer finch feeders – Stock nyjer seed or sunflower chips in specialty finch feeders with small ports.
– Provide open plantings – Grow sunflowers, millet, or other plants with small seeds accessible to finches.
– Supply fresh water – Birdbaths, fountains, or drippers attract finches seeking water.
– Nest boxes – Mount small nest boxes made for finches. Monitor to keep House Sparrows from taking over.
– Birdhouses – Hang finch houses with 1 1/8” diameter openings. Place under eaves or porches.
– Limit pesticides – Avoid chemicals toxic to small birds on plants and insects.
-Natural habitats – Keep some brushy, open areas and native plants finches seek.
– Range of heights – Offer feeders and perches low and high for safety.
With a little encouragement, the bright red males and subtly beautiful females will bring their cheerful songs and colors to your yard. Watching them busily congregate at feeders year-round provides easy entertainment.
Where can you observe House Finches?
Here are some ideal locations to spot the red splashes of male House Finches and listen to their lively songs:
– Backyards – Commonly visit platform feeders or hop along the ground. Provide millet and sunflower seeds to attract them.
– City parks – Find them on lawns, in ornamental trees and shrubs, and near any seed sources.
– Gardens – They descend on vegetable gardens when seed heads ripen and chirp from tomato cages.
– Farmlands – Large flocks forage through fields, orchards, and grain crops during winter.
– Desert washes – Look for them singing from mesquite and palo verde trees.
– Golf courses – Fairways and watered trees provide seeding habitat between the holes.
– Roadsides – Walk along rural roads to find House Finches perched on power lines and fence posts.
– Mountain forests – During summer, visit open pine forests up to 10,000 feet to see House Finches.
– Bird feeder areas – Find them at backyard feeders or community wildlife feeding stations set up specifically for birds.
House Finches are active and vocal, so watching and listening for them wherever you find seed sources, trees, and open habitats should result in sightings. Enjoy their cheery presence!
Conclusion
Identifying the House Finch simply takes recognizing the bright red plumage on the male’s head, breast, and rump, and the plain brown streaked plumage of the female. Listening for their warbled, exuberant songs, contact calls, and wing beats can also help identify flocks as they congregate and forage. House Finches adapt readily to human environments, so they can be observed in many suburban and urban areas at feeders and gardens. Providing the right foods and nest sites encourages these delightful songbirds to become year-round residents. Anyone can attract vibrant House Finches to their backyard by offering millet, sunflowers, and suitable nest boxes.