Cassin's Finch

Carpodacus cassinii

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family FRINGILLIDAE - Subfamily Carduelinae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

Slightly larger than the other red finches in North America, the Cassin's Finch is a common bird of the western mountains.

Cool Facts

• The male Cassin's Finch stays in its female-like plumage during its first breeding season. It sings like an older male and may give the false impression that both sexes sing.

• The Cassin's Finch is an accomplished mimic, often adding the calls of other species into its own songs.

• The Cassin's Finch breeds semicolonially, with nests on average about 25 m (82 ft) apart. Nests sometimes may occur within 1 m (3 ft). If the nests are this close the males usually fight until one of the pair gives up. If the first nest is substantially earlier than the other, however, such close nesting may be tolerated.

• The Cassin's Finch craves salt, and is often found visiting mineral deposits on the ground.

Description

• Size: 16 cm (6 in)
• Wingspan: 25-27 cm (10-11 in)
• Weight: 24-34 g (0.85-1.2 ounces)

• Medium-sized finch.
• Male rosy pink on head and chest; female brown and striped.
• Bill relatively long and pointed.

• Tail notched.

Sex Differences

Male rosy pink, female streaked brown and white.

Male

Cap bright pinkish red. Nape paler. Ear coverts brown. Chin, throat, and upper breast dull rose pink, grading into pinkish white on belly. Back grayish with faint reddish wash and broad dusky streaks. Rump unstreaked rose pink. Undertail coverts white with dusky streaks.

Female

Back and head grayish with blackish streaks. Underparts white with distinct dark streaking. Undertail coverts streaked. Auriculars dark. Pale eyering. Faint white eyestripe and faint pale malar stripe.

Immature

Immature identical to female.

Similar Species

• Purple Finch bill heavier, thicker, and less pointed. Male Purple Finch darker red over the breast and flanks, and with unstreaked undertail coverts. Female Purple Finch with brighter and more obvious white eyestripe and malar stripe, broader streaks on breast and flanks, and unstreaked undertail coverts.
• House Finch slimmer with longer, unnotched tail, and less pointed beak. House Finch male with bright red on chest and distinctly streaked flanks. Female House Finch with blurry streaks on chest and duller gray brown face. For more discussion on distinguishing these three species, click here

Sound

Song a series of jumbled whistles, often with imitations of calls of other bird species. Calls "keeup" and "tidilip."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds in mountains from southeastern British Columbia and western South Dakota southward to eastern California and northern New Mexico.

Winter Range

Winters throughout mountainous West from British Columbia into central Mexico.

Habitat

• Breeds in open coniferous forests in mountains.
• Winters in similar habitat, but at lower elevations.

Food

Buds, berries, fruits, seeds, and some insects.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages mostly on ground.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest an open cup of twigs, rootlets, weed stems, and lichens, lined with fine rootlets, grass stems, hair, or feathers. Nest placed on lateral branch of conifer.

Egg Description

Light greenish blue, speckled with dark spotting at large end.

Clutch Size

Usually 4-5 eggs. Range: 3-6.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with sooty gray down.

Conservation Status

Declining trends in many areas may represent normal fluctuations.

Other Names

Roselin de Cassin (French)
Gorrión de Cassin (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Hahn, T. P. 1996. Cassin's Finch (Carpodacus cassinii). In The Birds of North America, No. 240 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.