Mom: "There's this little brown bird in the yard, Amelia [my niece] wants to know what it is."
Me: "Ok..."
Mom: "What is it?"
Me: "..............."
While this could actually be a number of different bird species, I have found the perpetrator is most often the very common House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus).
You will most often notice them by their red (sometimes yellow) heads and otherwise brown bodies with stripes running the length of their chest and belly. The colorful finches are the males (duh) and the dull brown ones are the females or juveniles. If you live here in the States you're sure to spot them making a mess of your feeders. They especially love to cling to feeders or nearby trees/shrubs while they crush open seeds with their thick beaks.
Male house finch hangs on while picking out the black oil sunflower which they prefer
A male and female bring their young offspring to the nyjer feeder on a cool morning. Finches are highly sociable and during nesting seasons you'll often see a few juveniles fluttering/begging and being fed by adults.
Another species of finch you might spot at your feeder is the Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) and sometimes the American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis). Goldfinches are huge fans of the nyjer seed and any other type of thistle/sunflower plant and are guaranteed to make an appearance once you add them to your yard. In our yard we get the Lesser's most of the time but the American's might make an appearance during the winter (check out the links for more about their seasonal ranges).
The Lesser Golds are found from the California/Central Oregon to Central Texas and down into Mexico, preferring the warmer climate.
Males have a black crown and greenish/gray neck and very brilliant yellow coloring over their chest and belly. Meanwhile, females wear a more demure appearance with softer yellow-gray coloration. The contrast between the yellow feathers and striking black and white wings make them easy to pick out from the usual finches at the feeder and their song is also more delicate than the house finch.
Here in San Diego we have a lot of non-native species that have been accidentally released into the wild and have done very well for themselves. A flock of Spice finches (Lonchura punctulata), which were probably unwanted pets, often visit our feeders and seem to get along just fine with their foreign cousins.
[Source]
Which hail from woodland areas of California down into Baja California. These finches will migrate West to East instead of the usual North to South.
The Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) is more a Canadian/East Coast bird but can be found on the West Coast as well.
They can be found in areas with coniferous trees/woodlands and prefer black oil sunflower seed.
There are numerous other finches and finch-like species which will frequent feeders so I suggest checking out the link to become more acquainted with local species!
Happy Birding!!
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FINCH FUN FACTS:
- The male house finches' brilliant coloring come from pigment in the food they eat during their molt so depending on how much pigment they ingest will determine how brightly colored they are. The brighter males are preferred by the females perhaps because it shows they know how to better forage.
- House finches are Western birds but were introduced in New York as "Hollywood finches" which failed as a sales pitch and they were subsequently released into the wild where they flourished.
- Lesser goldfinches in California have olive colored necks while the populations in Texas and into Mexico have black necks.
- Goldfinches are much smaller than the house finch and highly acrobatic. They are among the strictest vegetarians in regards to birds which is a great defense against the nest parasitizing cowbird because it's young can not live on an all seed diet. Learn more about cowbirds here.
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