Do you know how House Finches, the bird with red chest, became one of the most common birds in North America? A few birds were released from a pet store in New York, in 1940.
Then on, these birds (only sold as pets then) have expanded their population naturally in the wild and have adjusted to almost all type of climates.
Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video.
House Finch Male
Location & Range
These are permanent residents of North America, mainly northern and eastern regions. These are widely spread in parts of Mexico, Canada, and Hawaii. They have adjusted to habitats like deserts, open forests, farms, grasslands, and backyards and city parks.
Behavior
These are mostly resident birds and migrate short distances if need be. These are highly social, mostly seen in large flocks. Also, they are found singing all through the year. Their chirps sound similar to a house sparrow.
These finches are 12.5 to 15 cm (4.9 to 5.9 in) in length and weigh around 21 g. Adult males have orange-red color on heads, necks, and shoulders with brown and white streaked belly and lower parts.
Male House Finch
Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video.
Their head color may range from yellow to orange and finally to intense red; depending on the pigments in their diet.
An immature male looks same as a female. Females are over all gray-brown with thick streaks on their lower parts. Both males and females have a notched brown tail, like other finches. These birds have strong, conical, but slightly curved bills.
House Finches are primarily vegetarian. House Finches are one of the rare birds who feed their nestlings mostly plant based foods.
Diet
They enjoy thistle, nettle, mustard seeds, dandelion, knotweed, and cactus in the wild. Their diet also includes several fruits like plums, apricots, figs, pears, cherries, blackberries, and strawberries.
At feeders, these birds prefer black oil sunflower seeds. Occasionally, they also eat small insects like aphids. Parent birds might feed insects to their nestlings for extra protein.
During courtship, the male regurgitates his food and feeds the female. The females flutter their wings and poke the male’s beak, mimicking a hungry chick. The female chooses a male having the brightest red color on his head.
Mating
Habitat
The breeding habitats of house finches differ from rocky areas, cactus, and buildings to coniferous and deciduous forests. They might even use a vacated nest of another bird.
Their cup-shaped nests are made of numerous materials like roots, twigs, wool, and feathers.
The females lay 2-6 eggs in a single season. There might be 2-3 seasons in a year.
The eggs are pale white or blue in color with black or light purple marks. The incubation period is almost 14 days.
Nesting
While female incubates the eggs, the male feeds her and continues this for chicks when born.
These chicks are born pink and naked with little white line of feathers and eyes shut.
They stay around the nest for 2-3 weeks. They may be fed by their father even after that.
Cassin’s Finch and Purple Finch have plump bodies while House Finches have slimmer bodies.
The stubby and curved bill of a House Finch is one of its characteristic features.
House Finch vs Purple Finch vs Cassin’s Finch
The color of a male House Finch can differ from yellow to orange to red, while the other two have shades of red only.
A House Finch has a smooth crown while the others have a peaked crown.
Lifespan
The oldest House Finch recorded was a 11 years & 7 months old female. Although, these birds might not always live for so many years.