Purple Finches

Male Purple Finch

Roger Tory Peterson once described the Purple Finch as "a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice." These birds breed in North America, but it requires careful observation to distinguish them from the more commonly seen House Finch.

Purple Finches are larger and more chunky than chickadees and nuthatches. They have thicker and more conical bills than sparrows. Their tail is noticeably notched. 

The male Purple Finch shows pink-red (not purple) on the head and the breast, mixing with brown on the back and some white on the belly. The back has some streaks. The head is rather bright, with a distinct paler pink eyebrow contrasting with a darker cheek. The lower belly is whitish with some wide blurry streaks.

Female Purple Finch

The female Purple Finch has no red color. She is mostly brownish. The underparts are brownish streaks on whitish color. The female has a strong white eye stripe and a dark line down the throat. 

Purple Finches breed mostly in moist, cool coniferous forests or mixed deciduous and coniferous woods. During winter they may be seen feeding in backyards.

Female Purple Finches do all of the nest building. The nests are made from twigs, sticks and roots, and are lined with fine grasses or animal hair. Two to seven eggs are laid and incubated for 12 or 13 days. Nestlings fledge in about two weeks.

Purple Finches' primary diet consists of seeds of conifer trees and tulip poplars, maples and similar trees. They also eat soft buds, nectar (by biting off the base of the flower) and many types of berries. In winter they will eat seeds from dandelions, ragweed and cocklebur. Purple Finches also eat insects, such as aphids, caterpillars, grasshoppers and beetles. If they visit a feeder, it will be for black oil sunflower seed.

Purple Finches used to be common in the eastern United States but are losing their numbers here. Instead House Finches now prevail. In the 1940s House Finches were brought to Long Island from the Southwest (where they are native) to be sold as house pets. As selling native birds is illegal, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service threatened the pet shops with prosecution. The shops responded by releasing the "evidence" into the wild. Since then, House Finches rapidly adapted to the eastern United States. Now 9 out of 10 finches we see are House Finches. 

So how do Purple Finches differ from House Finches? The two may be difficult to distinguish. In general, House Finches are a bit drabber than Purple Finches. 

Female and male House Finches

Male Purple Finches have a greater amount of pink or rosy red color. Male House Finches have a lesser amount of reddish color; the hue is more intensely reddish or orange reddish. The wings of the male House Finch lack bright color and the flanks are streaked. 

The female House Finches is grayish brown. The breast of has some streaking but it is blurrier than that of the female Purple Finch. The female House Finch's face is indistinctly marked.

House Finches also tend to be more slender than Purple Finches. Both species of these seed-eating birds have similar bills, but the House Finch's bill is slightly smaller and is fairly blunt and rounded, without a sharp tip.

Another distinguishing feature is their nesting practices. House Finches welcome nesting boxes (bird houses); Purple Finches do not use them.