Regardless, there is significant variation in coloration among individuals and this is not always a reliable identification characteristic. It is often said that purple finch males look as though they have been dunked in raspberry jam. Where purple finch males are red nearly all over their bodies, house finches have less extensive red coloration that is concentrated on the crown, throat, breast and rump. This species is often confused with house finches.
House finch vs purple finch full#
Juveniles of both sexes are nearly identical to adult females, and males may not develop full adult red plumage until after their first year. Like many finches, purple finches have deeply notched tails that are visible in flight. Their backs are streaked with two tones of brown. As in the males, females' bellies and undertail coverts are white. Throats are white, and the breast features short, brown streaks that extend into the belly and flanks. Below this patch, there is a thick, white mustache stripe followed by a dark brown malar stripe.
House finch vs purple finch Patch#
A brown patch extends from their eye down to cover their ears. Their crowns are brown and are bordered by thick, white eyebrow stripes. Females are overall brown, and have a bold brown and white pattern on their heads. Bellies and undertail coverts are unmarked white. Wing and tail feathers are brown, but may also be tinted red. Males have red on their heads, backs, throats, breast, flanks, and rumps. Their bills are conical, pointed, and well-adapted for cracking open seeds.
Both male and female House Finches have significant brown streaking on their flanks and belly compared to House Sparrows and other similar finch species like the Purple Finch or Cassin’s Finch.Īgain, don’t forget that with these two species, one of the key identifiers is location, location, location! If you want to solidify your sparrow identification skills, check out this guide.Purple finches are medium-sized finches that measure 15.2 cm in length, weigh 25 g, and have a 25.4 cm wingspan. House Sparrows’ color pattern is generally darker than that of House Finches, with deeper browns and more black in the back and wings.
House Sparrows have a much more conical bill that is smaller than finches’, and the bill is black or yellow, depending on the bird’s gender and breeding stage. House Finches have large, thick beaks of a grayish color.
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