Purple Finch

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