northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's 1 of the House Finches around last spring. (All that red indicates he's a mature male, BTW.) They're called House Finches because they're often found near humans, but they're not really dependent on houses. Back before Native Americans crossed over into the Americas, House Finches were already here, or at least in the areas that would eventually be Mexico and the American Southwest. Humans do have a role in their prevalence though; House Finches went continent-wide when taken as pets to much of the rest of the Continental US, and then released. While the term House Finch may sound rather ordinary, as pets they were billed as the far more glamorous  Hollywood Finches . Given their adaptability to much of the East Coast, I'm a little surprised they weren't more widespread before us humans introduced them here. May 18, 2023 at Fairview Farm Photo 292810887, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) May 18, 2023 at Fairview Farm Photo 292810896, (...

Here's a male Northern Cardinal dining with a female House Finch [1]. Both of these birds have stout beaks for the same reason; they both need them to crush the seeds they like to eat: Birds of a feather, flock together.   Birds of a beak, similar food they'll seek. As adults both species mostly eat fruits and seeds, though adult cardinals won't pass up a tasty mealworm . Finches are more committed to a vegetarian lifestyle, though even they won't pass up eating insects (like aphids ) that are easily accessible. The difference is much starker with what they consider baby food; cardinals will feed their hatchlings as much protein-enriched insects as they can, while finch hatchlings get primarily vegetarian meals. Despite the somewhat similar beaks, they're not particularly closely related. The Northern Cardinal is in the cardinal family (surprise!) while House Finches are in the finch family (double surprise!). Our current understanding is that cardinals are more...

This picture was taken near bird feeders, and I'm pretty sure this House Finch was hanging around because he was still hungry. In the meantime he had commandeered this branch as he made his lunch plans. Similar to their American Goldfinch cousins, House Finches are pretty dedicated lifelong vegetarians, so the seed-based food at most bird feeders is right up their alley. Some birds become more vegetarian as they become adults despite being raised on protein-rich invertebrates by their parents, but House Finch nestlings are mostly vegetation. This probably means their unlikely to be victimized by brood parasites like the Brown-headed Cowbird .

At Duke Farms they decorated their outdoor Christmas tree with House Finches ! House Finches can make for interesting and festive decorations for an outdoor tree, though the Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits their use on indoor trees. On outdoor trees, the main drawbacks are: The ornaments don't necessarily face in the direction you want. The ornaments sometimes fly off for food, or if a hawk flies overhead, or even for no apparent reason. On the other hand, they'll automatically rearrange themselves periodically, and if you're lucky they may even sing to you. I would encourage you to encourage bird decorations in your outdoor trees. December 22, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 174171758, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a House Finch that seems to be trying to determine the most delicious, savory sunflower seed to eat. Especially at a well-stocked bird feeder, it's okay to be choosy. I've shown House Finches before , but they are neat looking little guys. One thing that might surprise people is that even though they are native to North America, they're not really native to the east . They were a West Coast bird that some people started keeping illegally as pets, and probably some of them were released here, perhaps when the law was closing in on their owners. From there, they relatively rapidly spread throughout the eastern/central US, and are now one of the continent's most abundant wild birds. Presumably because they are native to part of North America, they don't have the notoriety of invasive species like the European Starling or House Sparrow . July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 148188091, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a House Finch that stopped by the Duke Farms bird feeder for a snack and to socialize with the other birds. This is a male, recognizable by the red coloring. They're usually pretty easy to identify; in my area only the less commonly seen Purple Finch is likely to be confused with the Houses. House Finches have been dealing with a pandemic of their own: House Finch eye disease  aka Avian Conjunctivitis. This is a bacterial disease that causes swollen eyes, sometimes to the point of blindness. Even less severe cases can impact their ability to see, and sight is very important to these birds. Some related birds (Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, Evening Grosbeak) can also catch it, though I don't think it goes through their populations with such bad consequences. This disease is one of the biggest threats to our House Finch neighbors. March 31, 2021 at Duke Farms