Purple Finch
At a Glance
Not really purple, more of an old-rose color is the male Purple Finch. This species is common in the North and East, and along the Pacific seaboard, but it is very rare in much of the Rocky Mountains region. Purple Finches feed up in trees and on the ground in open woods. They readily come to bird feeders; but they have become less numerous as feeder visitors in the Northeast, where competition with introduced House Sparrows and then House Finches may have driven them back into the woods.
Description
5 1/2-6 1/2″ (14-17 cm). Similar to House Finch but looks chunkier, shorter-tailed. Adult male more uniformly washed with dull red on head and foreparts, lacks obvious dark stripes on sides. Female and young show much stronger face pattern than House Finch, including dark whisker and whitish eyebrow. In mountain west, see Cassin’s Finch.
Size
About the size of a Robin, About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Brown, Red, Tan, White
Wing Shape
Pointed
Tail Shape
Notched
