House Finch

House Finches have all the characteristics of a good finch – a short, fat bill, brightly coloured males, a social disposition, and a cheerful, chatty song. They use their strong beaks to crack open seeds, or to munch on buds and flowers. Males range from yellow to bright red based on the pigments they obtain from their diet. Females are a drab brown, but they prefer the reddest males. A deep red face is not only a great look; it also shows that the finch is committed to a balanced diet with a complete set of nutrients.

House Finches are native to western North America, from Mexico up to southern BC. In the 1940s, an aspiring entrepreneur captured a number of birds and brought them to New York to sell them as caged “Hollywood Finches.”  When nobody wanted to buy the poor birds, he set them loose. Like good finches, they set to reproducing immediately, and now House Finches are abundant all over the eastern States. Despite being an introduced species, they are much less vilified than European Starlings and House Sparrows. (Whether they actually cause less harm to native species in the east is beside the point, because they’re so darn pretty.)

I saw this house finch in our neighbour’s tree on April 20, having a delicious meal of cherry blossoms with his friend.

The house finch's friend has deep red feathers that puts our orange one's to shame.