{"id":549,"date":"2018-12-21T11:54:11","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T16:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/urbannaturestore.blog\/?p=549"},"modified":"2018-12-21T11:54:11","modified_gmt":"2018-12-21T16:54:11","slug":"purple-finch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.mppdev.net\/index.php\/2018\/12\/21\/purple-finch\/","title":{"rendered":"Jane’s Deck of Birds – Purple Finch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Purple finches are delightful birds that we are able to enjoy during the winter months… most years.  They can move erratically from year to year, but this year they have been regular visitors to the GTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Male Purple Finch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Roger Tory Peterson described the male as a “sparrow dipped in raspberry juice”.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Females and first-year males have brown heads with a white eyebrow, white breasts with dark streaks, a streaked back over white under parts, and thin white wing bars.\u00a0 The males do not get the raspberry colour until their second year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit – Robin Arnold (Female Purple Finch)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some people confuse the\u00a0Purple\u00a0Finch with the House Finch.\u00a0 House Finches visit our back yards year round.\u00a0 They are slightly smaller than the\u00a0Purple\u00a0Finch and have a brown cap, red forehead, breast and rump.\u00a0 The female House Finch looks more like a sparrow with fewer streaks on her breast than the female\u00a0Purple\u00a0Finch.
These finches nest just south of the northern boreal forest.\u00a0 Their nests are shallow cups made with twigs, strips of bark, small roots, \u00a0and lined with grass and hair.\u00a0 They usually build their nests in evergreens or shrubs, 5 to 60 feet above the ground.\u00a0 Three to five eggs are laid.\u00a0\u00a0Purple\u00a0Finches have a lovely rich warbling song during mating season.\u00a0 They will even add sounds of other species which include Eastern Towhees, Gold Finches, Barn Swallows and Brown Headed Cowbirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Purple\u00a0Finches have large seed cracking beaks and will come to feeders that offer black oil sunflower seed.\u00a0 I have seen them at hopper, tube and ground feeders.\u00a0 If you have any of these feeder types, you’ll be sure to see them.\u00a0 The oldest recorded\u00a0Purple\u00a0Finch was a male that lived until the age of 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purple Finch Calls<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n