Very well done, Brad:)
On Mon, May 8, 2023 at 11:38 PM Brad Shine <sonofshine@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
For everyone else who doesn't want to read the rest:
This is a House Finch.
Melody and others who want to read a lot more....:
If you look at the average lengths and sizes of all three species of finches
(House ,Cassin's, and Purple) they are roughly the same size and there are
pretty big ranges within each of the species, all of them are around 12-15
centimeters, so size really wont come into play for the ID. If you get a 12
centimeter House next to a 15 centimeter House, then one mightttttt look
bigger, but you could also have any sort of size combo.
Size in general is really a bad ID marker because there are so many things
that affect it, including (maybe most importantly) our perception.
Structure is a good thing to go off of because unless it has a weird genetic
thing, it should be relatively the same for all individuals of a species.
So we are all in agreement that it is a finch and it is a male (adult)
because it has some color on it. (The color for house finches is affected by
diet so thats why we can get red, yellow or orange house finches).
The beak is actually pretty tricky from the one angle we got from your
photo...
On the top mandible of the beak... that top ridge is called a culmen. On
House Finches the culmen is curved at an angle while Cassin's Finches have
very straight culmens and the beak is longer, skinnier, and pointier.
Your bird does not have a long, skinny, or pointy bill. If you look closely
the culmen is curved. It is not an exact straight line. I know this is hard
to see in your specific photo, but when you see a Cassin's Finch beak it is
really really obvious.
You indicated that your bird is not just red, but has much more red than your
average House Finch including on the chest and back. House finches can vary
how much red they can have, and your example is perfectly in normal
variations for House finch.
Purple Finches are noted as "Raspberry" in color.
Cassin's Finches are also noted as "Raspberry" in color with a peaked crown
that's red.
so essentially it should look more maroon-ish than red if its a Cassin's or
Purple.
Male Purple finches have rosy coloration on most of the bird.
Cassin's Finches have a brighter crown but still a rosy coloration on the
throat and possibly breast and some on the upper back.
Also your bird has blackish streaks on the side in the area above its legs -
the flank area/breast/belly.
Adult Male Cassin's do not have super streaked underparts (mostly plain) and
have a very small white eyering.
Adult male Purples also do not have super streaked underparts (mostly plain)
but might have some red or brownish ones but not dark or black or that many
like a House Finch.
With allllll of that being said, your bird is looking pretty sad on his
head... He is missing feathers on the back of his head and around his eye. It
could be molting perhaps, but I really think it has some feather mites that
are causing the lack of feathers in those areas.
These birds can be tricky, but every time I have seen a Cassin's or a Purple
Finch I immediately knew it was not a house finch. I know that might not be
helpful to hear, but I didn't think it could be different, I KNEW it was
different.
While I don't think this is perfect, this link does a pretty good job of
describing all of the differences, probably better than me, and it includes
pictures :-)
https://birdfinding.info/identification-house-purple-cassins-finches/
Hope this helps,
Brad Shine
On Mon, May 8, 2023 at 10:53 PM Melody Huffman <biblebarn3432@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hey Brad, I’d like to understand why you think a house finch. It just seems
to have so much more red on its back and back of the neck and seemed larger
than the male house finches that frequent our feeder. I’m not trying to be
difficult just want to know a tad more. We had a yellow orange house finch a
few years ago. Do you think this one is immature? It preferred the
sunflower seeds on the ground The other finches prefer our sock or platform
feeder. Thanks.
On Mon, May 8, 2023 at 4:29 PM Brad Shine <sonofshine@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This is a house finch
Brad Shine
On Mon, May 8, 2023 at 6:14 AM Melody Huffman <biblebarn3432@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
We had this little finch in the backyard yesterday. Not sure what it is.
Cassin's? Purple? I was taking pics through the kitchen window and it
wouldn't get out in the sun. Just really don't think it is a house finch.
Thank you, Melody