Male house finch are strawberry-red or reddish orange or yellowish. Female house finch prefer a male that looks like this one. The redder the better!

I remember from the years when I lived in Ontario, Canada the excitement birders felt whenever a house finch was reported. Birders would travel to the feeder or site just to see this little finch from the west. It was native in western North America but not in the eastern part of the continent.

According to the Cornell Lab, there were several attempts to sell house finches as cage birds, all of which failed. So in 1940, a small number of house finches were released on Long Island, New York. They began to breed and expand their range over most of the eastern United States and southern Canada during the next 50 years. Another interesting part of their history reported by the Cornell Lab indicates that the house finch was introduced to Oahu before 1870. By 1901, they had “become abundant on all the major Hawaiian Islands.”

Here in Pacific County and the Long Beach Peninsula, the house finch is a common, permanent resident and a breeding species. Given that it is common on the Peninsula, I don’t see it as often as I think I should. It nests in almost any situation such as hanging flower baskets, planters, in trees, on buildings, ledges, vents, etc. In fact, this species prefers nesting and feeding near houses and people which is reflected in its name. This tendency to be urban is more common but house finch living in the West are also common in more wild habitats such as desert grasslands and savannas (David M. Bird, 2019).

House finch are mainly vegetarians, so their diet consists almost exclusively of plant material, seeds, buds and fruit — but they will also eat insects. One of their favorite foods is the black oil sunflower seed that we often put in our feeders. They are one of the most common birds at bird feeders in the West.

House finches have short, curved bills suited for cracking seeds. They are small bodied with round heads, and short wings which make the tail look long. Most males have strawberry-red bibs and head. Color varies, however, from red to reddish-orange or yellowish. Coloring is influenced by their diet. Narrow brown steaks are on the underparts. Females are drab in appearance. They are dressed in grayish brown overall with indistinct streaking and blurry grayish-brown streaks on the underside. Scientists indicate that females prefer males who are the deepest red.

As noted above, house finch will nest almost anywhere. They have two to three broods a year and lay one to six eggs. Their breeding season is February to August. Now is a good time to see young house finches. Parents are feeding their begging fledglings. I am seeing them feed their young near my feeders or when they sit with fluttering wings, wide open beaks, and spikey feathers on their heads in the platform feeders. The babies await a tasty morsel of regurgitated seed.

The house finch is very social and is a non-territorial songbird. Its song is a melodious warble with whistles and low husky notes. I find it to be a welcome cheery sound. Its call note sounds like it is saying “queet.” I hope you are seeing and enjoying house finches these days!

Happy birding!