Quantcast

Purple Finch

Carpodacus purpureusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Finches (Fringillidae)

Purple Finch Portrait
  Copyright 2002-2007 Whatbird.com
Click here for licensing information Splitbar

General

Purple Finch: Medium-sized finch with rose-red body and brown streaks on nape and back. Sides, flanks, and belly are dull white with red wash; sides show thick, faint streaks. Wings and notched tail are brown. Female has streaked brown upperparts, heavily streaked dull white underparts, pronounced pale stripe behind eye, dark jaw stripe, and two pale wing-bars. Juvenile resembles adult female.

Range and Habitat

Purple Finch: Breeds from British Columbia east to Newfoundland, southward in the western mountains to California and from eastern Minnesota east to West Virginia. Spends winters south to the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include mixed and coniferous woodlands and ornamental conifers located in gardens.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tick"

Interesting Facts

 Purple Finch populations in the Eastern United States have declined dramatically due to competition with the House Finch.

 Males may hop as high as 12 inches in the air while puffing their chest and cocking their tails to attract a mate.

 It is the state bird of New Hampshire.

 A group of finches has many collective nouns, including a "charm", "company", and "trembling" of finches.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Purple Finch
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Buntings, Finches, Sparrows (Emberizidae)_blue
Species Carpodacus purpureus
Length5.5 - 6.25 Inches
Wingspan9.875 Inches

Purple Finch

Purple Finch: Medium finch, rose-red body, brown streaks on nape, back. Sides, flanks, belly are dull white with red wash; sides show thick, faint streaks. Brown wings, notched tail. Eats seeds, fruits, insects and caterpillars. Swift flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "tick"

● Foraging & Feeding: Purple Finch: Diet consists mostly of seeds, buds, blossoms, and fruits, usually taken from outer branches of trees and occasionally from the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Purple Finch: Three to five light green blue eggs, marked with black and brown, are laid in a well-made cup of grass and twigs, often lined with hair, and built in a conifer. Eggs are incubated for 13 days by the female.

● Similar species: Purple Finch: House Finch has brown streaks on breast and belly, less red on head, longer tail, and different call. Cassin's Finch has streaked undertail coverts, larger bill, and weakly notched tail.

Flight Pattern

Swift bounding flight with rapid wing beats.
Purple Finch Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Purple Finch: Breeds from British Columbia east to Newfoundland, southward in the western mountains to California and from eastern Minnesota east to West Virginia. Spends winters south to the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include mixed and coniferous woodlands and ornamental conifers located in gardens.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common
MigrationNorthern birds migrate
Weight1.2 Ounces