Foam Lake Birding No. 7

FOAM LAKE BIRDING No. 7
Whereas the Purple Finch is native to our area, the House Finch is not. The first time that I saw one, much to my surprise, was in October of 1994. Distribution maps in bird books showed it to be a bird of the American southwest! It certainly is common in California, Arizona and adjacent areas, but what was it doing here?
In my research, I discovered that the House Finch was sold as the “Hollywood Finch” in the illegal cage-bird trade. Apparently, the law was closing in on the individuals who were involved, so in order to avoid prosecution, the culprits released the birds to dispose of the evidence. Since this event in New York, in 1940, the bird has spread explosively across the rest of the continent. There are other introduced birds in our area, but they are all foreign. What is unusual about the introduction of the House Finch is that it is a native of North America.
The male Purple and House Finches are very similar in size, colour, diet and song. It takes a bit of practice to tell them apart. First, the Purple Finch has more red on his body. Second, the Purple Finch is more of a wine colour, whereas, the House Finch has more of an orange tinge. Third, the Purple Finch has a bright red cap; the House Finch has a grey one. Fourth, the Purple Finch often raises its head feathers into a crest, the House Finch does not. Fifth, the female House Finch has a plain grayish brown face; the female Purple Finch has a pronounced brown bar through its eye. In fact, it is easier to tell the females apart than the males.
There are several other characteristics to note about the House Finch, none of which are very helpful in distinguishing it from the Purple Finch. First, House Finches are non-migratory. They do seem to go somewhere, perhaps to the cities, but several will show up at feeders all winter long. Second, the females do not sing. Third, House Finches come in three colour phases; red - the most common, orange – less common, yellow – quite rare. It is quite easy to conclude that these three colour phases represent three different species of birds. In fact, over the years, this sort of thing has happened several times with other birds! One could compare them to people; some are brunette, some are blond, some are red haired and so on. This is another reason why identifying birds by colour alone can be misleading.
This week’s picture shows the House Finch sitting lengthwise on a branch as it if were playing hide and seek. What happened was that the bird had just finished eating sunflower seeds at the feeder and was rubbing seed residue off its beak on the branch (wiping the crumbs off its” lips”, as it were). Actually, many birds exhibit this behavior. It just so happened that I had a camera handy at the time, and was lucky enough to get this shot.
The beginning birder should not be discouraged by the difficulty in distinguishing between the two species. Treat it as a challenge. It does get easier with practice. Keep in mind that even experienced birders have to take a second look at times.

Foam Lake Birding No. 6

FOAM LAKE BIRDING No. 6
I decided that I am going to go back and write about finches again. Not that I have any special fondness for them, but rather, that I wanted to change colours as it were. To date, I have written about brown, yellow and black birds, so for this column and the next one, I thought red might be nice.
In recent years, the Purple Finch has become a welcome summer addition to our area. Why is anybody’s guess. Perhaps, the recent practice of putting out bird feeders has provided an ample food supply; perhaps, mature evergreens provide suitable nesting sites; perhaps, it is a combination of the two; perhaps, it is for reasons entirely different. Whatever the reasons, they are common now, when only a short time ago they were seen only in the spring and fall during migration to and from the Boreal forests.
Purple finches are sparrow-sized. The female is streaked brown and white; the male is mainly red. The male has been described as “a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice”. This is probably as good a description as can be stated in words. The name, purple, is somewhat baffling as the bird is essentially red. The reason is that the word, purple, has changed in meaning over the centuries. When the bird was first named, purple actually referred to a deep crimson (red) colour, not the familiar bluish colour of today. The definition of the word changed, but the name did not.
There are two other interesting features to note. First, when stressed or excited, the birds raise their head feathers into small crests. Second, the male’s courting display is quite remarkable. He drops his wings, raises his crest, fans his tail and struts about the female trying to impress her. He somewhat resembles a little red turkey gobbler! It is too late to witness this display this year, but be on the lookout next spring.
Purple Finches are one of the first birds to arrive in the spring. Because they are still in flocks, this is the best time to observe them. This spring was especially good. Our sunflower feeders had as many as twenty males alone-a spectacular sight! Other people around town reported much the same thing. Once nesting starts, they become territorial and start chasing each other away. Birders will then see only one or two (if it’s a mating pair) at any given feeder at any one time. Currently, there appear to be two nesting pairs somewhere in our block.
The Purple Finch’s song is quite pleasing. What is unusual is that the females sing as often and as well as the males. For those of us who like to hear birds sing, this is a real treat as we have twice as much birdsong.
As you are observing and studying the Purple Finch, you might notice that some of the birds seem to be off a bit. This means that your birding skills are improving. A very similar and closely related bird, the House Finch, also occurs in our area at our feeders. It will be the subject of the next column. Meanwhile, have fun telling them apart.