| House Finch | December 2009 |
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Several years ago, when in the high lands of Utah, I was surprised to come across house finches. I should have known better, since when Sue and I returned home, I read that house finches originally came from the Southwest. Decades ago, some house finches were taken to New York City, escaped, and dispersely throughout the Northeast.
For that matter, I used to see house finches more often in Queens or Long Island than I do in Pennsylvania; however, they're merry little birds and a welcome sight. House finches tend to show up at our feeders during the cold weather. Below, a male and a female house finch are sharing feeder space with a chipping sparrow. |
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| It can be difficult telling house finches apart from purple finches. Purple finches are somewhat larger, and the male tends to be more red than a male house finch. A female purple finch has a broad facial stripe, which the female house finch (below) does not have. |
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| What I enjoy about house finches is that they have a lot of character. |
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The male above looks like he's going to break out into a tremendous song.
Photo note: The first two photos were taken during October 2009, in State College, with the Pentax K20D, with the SMC-DA 55-300mm, and the third was taken in January 2009 with the K20D, with the SMC-A* 300mm lens. |