Compiled by Lisa S. Graham
Photo credit: Martina Nordstrand, Macaulay Library
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
House Finches originate from the western US and Mexico. In 1940, pet stores in New York released a small number of them after they failed to sell – they started breeding, as birds often do, and spread across the eastern US and southern Canada within the next 50 years.
House finches are small, smaller than sparrows, with large beaks and long, flat heads. The males are dusted with red around their face and upper breast. The red tint differs depending on what the bird ate during its molt. The more red pigment in the food, the more red pigment in the bird. Females have no red at all; they are grayish-brown with blurry, thick streaks.
You can attract the house finch to your feeder with quality seed, especially black oil sunflower, and when they arrive, they will most likely bring their friends. They are very social and prefer to travel in flocks; you will find them in both urban and rural areas. They will also eat fruit along with wild food such as thistle, mulberry, and wild mustard seeds.
When breeding, the females prefer males with the reddest coloration, perhaps because that indicates a mate who can find food and will be a good provider for the nestlings. When courting, the female will gently peck the male’s bill and flutter her wings; the male responds by simulating regurgitating to the female prior to feeding her (sounds gross, but it works for them!). The pair will build their nest in trees, on buildings, and in hanging plants. They will sometimes use abandoned nests.
The female lays between 2 and 6 eggs that will be incubated by the female for about 2 weeks. Baby birds will remain in the nest up to 19 days. The mated pair may raise up to 6 broods per season, with 2-3 broods being most common. Both parents feed the young – interestingly, they feed only plant material, which is unusual among birds.
Their call is warbling; I often think of it as messy – it goes all over the place. Like humans, house finches have regional accents with birds in California having shorter songs than those in Wisconsin and Colorado.
These little birds are also feisty. They have been known to chase off house sparrows, another unusual thing among birds. Studies show that when the number of house finches increase, the number of house sparrows will decrease. Since house sparrows are extremely invasive, let’s give three cheers for the house finch!
Sources
All About Birds (Cornell)
Audubon Field Guide