Purple Finch

Purple Finch, male

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Purple Finch, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

Formerly the common red finch at eastern bird feeders, the Purple Finch has been displaced in many areas by the introduced House Finch. The raspberry- or rose-colored Purple Finch lives primarily in coniferous woods and visits most of the eastern United States only in the winter.

Description

• Medium-sized finch.
• Male raspberry-red on head and chest; female brown and striped.
• Bill relatively thick and pointed.

• Size: 12-15 cm (5-6 in)
• Wingspan: 22-26 cm (9-10 in)
• Weight: 18-31 g (0.64-1.09 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male red, female brown-and-white striped.

Sound

Song a series of warbles, sometimes including imitations of songs of other birds. Call note a short low "tek."

Conservation Status

Declining in many parts of range. In the East, competition with the introduced House Finch may be responsible for the decline.

Other Names

Roselin pourpré (French)
Gorrión purpúreo (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Purple Finch feeds on flowers by crushing the base to get the nectar and leaving the upper flower undamaged. In a similar action, it often feeds on the seeds of fruits rather than the pulp.

• The decline of the Purple Finch in the East may be partly explained by competition with the introduced House Finch. In aggressive interactions, the House Finch nearly always wins. A population decline was noted with the introduction of the House Sparrow too, nearly 100 years earlier.

• Two subspecies of the Purple Finch are recognized, a Pacific Coast form and the more widespread form. The Pacific form differs by having a different wing shape and duller colors. The songs differ too, with Eastern birds singing a more leisurely series of warbles spanning a wider range of notes.

Sources used to construct this page:

Wootton, J. T. 1996. Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus). In The Birds of North America, No. 208 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.