House Finch

Haemorhous mexicanus

The House Finch is a bird that once was found only in the Western United States and Mexico, but over the past few decades that have spread across the continent and can now be found on the Atlantic Coast! Estimates are that there are over a billion of them in North America, and they can form flocks that number several hundred birds.

House Finches are small little birds with brownish coloration and blunt, squared tails. The males actually change color slightly over the course of the year, becoming more vibrant when they have the best food supplies. You see, their red or yellow colors come from what they eat, so abundant food leads to brighter hues.

The bright feathers are very important come breeding time. Females pick the males with the best colors to mate with, because those males clearly known how to locate food-- a very important trait when you may have up to 6 offspring at once! Interestingly, House Finches feed their chicks an exclusively vegetarian diet. Most birds, even ones that eat plants as adults, feed their young insects and other critters to give them a good amount of protein.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : North America
Size : Length up to 5.5in (14cm), Wingspan up to 10in (25cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Fringillidae -- Genus : Haemorhous -- Species : H. mexicanus

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Common Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebs (male)

The Common Chaffinch is a bird with a very large distribution. They can be found throughout Europe, large patches of western Asia, and north Africa and the Middle East. They have also been introduced to Australia and New Zealand, and are occasionally found in southeast Asia and even in the United States. There are many different location-based subspecies.

The males of the species are easy to identify-- they have white barred wings, a red chest, and a bright blue cap. Females are less colorful, and sport hints of green. Their name comes from "Chaff Finch," because they are fond of pecking out different grains to eat.

Most of the Common Chaffinches live in resident populations. Only those that live in colder regions will migrate to warmer climates during the winter. Migrating flocks can sometimes become quite large, though most of the time the birds live in very small groups or in pairs.

Breeding time brings about courtships displays from the males. After mating, the males leaves and the female nests in a tree fork. She will lay up to four eggs which take only two weeks to incubate and another two weeks for the chicks to fledge. Interestingly, the young Chaffinches are fed insects rather than seeds, though seeds will be their primary food source as adults.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Europe, parts of Africa and Asia
Size :  Length up to 6in (16cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Fringillidae -- Genus : Fringilla -- Species : F. coelebs

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Yariguies Brush-Finch

The Yariguies Brush-Finch is a subspecies discovered only seven years ago. It remained hidden for so long because it lives in Yariguies Mountains, which hadn't seen any sort of biological survey until 2004.

Atlapetes latinuchus yariguierum

The Yariguies Brush-Finch differs from the other finches of it's species by its coloration. Their plumage is black on the back, yellow underneath, and they sport a pretty neat looking red mohawk! Other related finches have different colored backs with white markings on the wings.

It took several years to determine that these Finches were a whole new subspecies. DNA analysis helped to confirm the identification. And interestingly, they made actually become an entire new species! A. latinuchus, their current overall species, may be split up and reclassified.

Yariguies Brush-Finches, though newly discovered, are already protected. A few months after its confirmation, the Colombian government set aside its habitat as a protected area.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Colombia

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Emberizidae -- Genus : Atlapetes-- Species : A. latinuchus -- Subspecies : A. l. yariguierum

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Black Rosy Finch

Leucosticte atrata

Meet one of the least studied birds in all of North America! The Black Rosy Finch gets that designation because it lives in a pretty inaccessible habitat. These small birds can only be found living in the Rocky Mountains, high up above the treeline in alpine areas.

Black Rosy Finches have dark colored heads, backs, and wings, with pink undersides and feet. Juveniles are more grey in color. They roost communally, and feed off of seeds and insects.

For the most part, these birds are non migratory. However, when winter comes and snow starts to cover, they sometimes move to lower elevation areas. They build nests in cliffs and crevices, and the male is very interesting in that he defends and entire moving areas around his mate, and not just the static nest itself.

Black Rosy Finches have a large range, but their population may be declining. It is difficult to determine numbers based on their location and habitat.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern

Location : United States

Size : Wingspan 13in (33cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Passeriformes
Family : Fringillidae -- Genus : Leucosticte -- Species : L. atrata

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American Goldfinch

Male (right) and Female (left)

Sorry for the completely last post today. I'm snowed in and everything is white, so today I felt like writing about an animal with some color: the American Goldfinch. As their name might suggest, there songbirds are native to North America, and can be found throughout at varying points of the year. Some populations remain in place year round, while others are migratory, moving between Canada and the Northern USA, down to the South and Mexico. They are found in brushy, mostly open habitats.

Both male and female Goldfinches are yellow, though the males are far more vibrant, especially during the breeding season. They are the only finch species to molt twice a year, and breed relatively late for a songbird.

American Goldfinches are notable for their very strict vegetarian diet. While many bird species feed on the occasional insect, Goldfinches eat exclusively seeds. This has an interesting affect on the Brown-Headed Cowbird. These birds sometimes lay eggs in Goldfinch nests, but the hatchlings are unable to survive due to the all-seed diet the Finches provide for their young.

Goldfinches are not a threatened species. They have a massive range spanning some 5 million square miles (about 8 million square km).

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