House Finches

Description:

Love is in the air for these house finches!

Males have a red head and breast and a streaked, brown belly. The red coloring comes from pigments contained in its food during molt. So, the more pigment in the food, the redder the male. Females seem to prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find! Adult females are grayish brown overall, with a brown head, wings, and tail, and streaked, brown underparts.

During courtship, males sometimes feed the females in a display that begins with the female pecking at his bill and fluttering her wings, like a fledgling would do. The male then feeds her regurgitated food. 

Habitat:

Rural yard - house finches come nest in my yard every year. The male particularly likes to sit in a bush next to my deck each morning and sing his beautiful, warbling songs.

Notes:

House Finches were originally found in the western United States. But, in 1940 some finches were released on Long Island, New York after failed attempts to sell them as pet “Hollywood Finches”. After being released into nature, they spread across almost all of the eastern United States.