House Finch

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Carpodacus mexicanus, or the House Finch is a new visitor to our feeders.  We've only seen one, once before about two years ago.  What a special surprise it was today when I was taking pictures of the usual visitors, (Northern Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Painted Buntings and even Squirrels), and a pair appeared!


I tried something different today.  Rather than take numerous pictures of both the male and female House Finch immediately, I instead decided to just stand there and observe their behavior.  I've learned that this is the best way to get quality bird pictures.  Learn your subject! 


 So, there I stood, in the cool 10-15 mph wind, watching a pair of House Finches fly from one tree to another, (usually distances of 40 yards or more), only to fly back again.  This pattern continued for about thirty minutes before the female finally landed on the feeder nearest the undergrowth.  She grabbed a large striped sunflower seed, cracked the shell effortlessly and then was immediately spooked off by one of the other visitors.  Then the male came.  He seemed to be more wary, landing one a branch near the feeder and then he flitted to another, not staying in one place for very long.  Once on the feeder however, he ate sunflower seed after sunflower seed.  That was until he too was scared off.  This behavior lasted for almost an hour.


The male, with his purplish-red face and breast is a stunning looking bird.  He gets the red color from the foods he eats and the females choose a mate by selecting the one with the reddest color, (probably to assure that the male can and will find food for the young).   The female is a browish-gray in color, with a similar pattern to that of a Red Winged Blackbird female, though the body size is much smaller.  They both have beaks that are used for cracking the hardest of seed husks, though they prefer millet and sunflower seeds.



I suspect that in early spring we will lose this colorful visitor.  Though the census states that there are possibly up to one billion House Finches in the United States, they are rare in our woods, (or at least it has been until today).  It's a delight to see them.


They are a very polite bird, waiting until the feeder is virtually empty before attempting to light.  It is my hope that they stay and become a regular guest.