From Opus

Photo by forcreeks
Cabin Lake, Oregon, July 2005

Haemorhous cassinii

Carpodacus cassinii

[edit] Identification

16cm
Male

• Rose-pink head, breast, back and rump
• Streaked back and undertail
• Long pointed bill
• Notched tail
  

Female

• Light brown above
• Lighter, brown streaked below
• Pale eyering
• Faint white eyestripe
• Faint pale malar stripe

[edit] Similar Species

This finch is often confused with the House Finch and Purple Finch. Note the location of the red on the male, and the patterns of the feathers on the female.

[edit] Distribution

Southwest Canada, central Mexico and southern Baja California.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].
It was formerly placed in genus Carpodacus.

[edit] Habitat

Desert watering-holes, semi-desert scrub with mixed sage and juniper. Chaparral, rolling hills with mixed oak and pine. Forests, hedgerows and backyards.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes seeds, buds and berries, and insects. Will vist garden feeders.

[edit] Breeding

It builds an open cup from twigs, rootlets, lined with fine rootlets, grass stems, hair, or feathers. The 4-5 light greenish-blue eggs have dark spots.

[edit] Vocalisation

Song: Long and warbling.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. All About Birds

• List of references

[edit] External Links