Finch

The House Finch is a recent introduction from western into eastern North America (and Hawaii), but it has received a warmer reception than other arrivals like the European Starling and House Sparrow. That’s partly due to the cheerful red head and breast of males, and to the  bird’s long, twittering song, which can now be heard in most of the  neighborhoods of the continent. If you haven’t seen one

Fill your backyard feeders with small,  black oil sunflower seed. If House Finches discover your feeders, they  might bring flocks of 50 or more birds with them. Find out more about  what this bird likes to eat and what feeder is best by using the Project  FeederWatch Common Feeder Birds bird list. 

The female is a brown color as pictured here, while the male has bright red to make him stand out.

The red of a male House Finch comes from pigments contained in its food  during molt (birds can’t make bright red or yellow colors directly). So  the more pigment in the food, the redder the male. This is why people  sometimes see orange or yellowish male House Finches. Females prefer to  mat

You can find House Finches by looking  around settled habitats, such as city parks, urban centers, residential  backyards, farms, and forest edges. Gregarious and social, House Finches  are found in noisy groups that are hard to miss if present. Look for  House Finches feeding on the ground or at bird feeders, or perching high  in nearby trees.