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Difference between revisions of "House Finch" - BirdForum Opus

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;Carpodacus mexicanus
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[[Image:House_Finch.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male<br/>Photo by {{user|skiel|skiel}} <br />Orange County, [[New York]], [[USA]], March 2006]]
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[[Image:House_Finch.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by skiel]]
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;[[:Category:Haemorhous|Haemorhous]] mexicanus
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Photographed: Orange County, New York, USA.
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''Carpodacus mexicanus''
 
==Identification==
 
==Identification==
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5-6" (13-15 cm). Sparrow-sized. Most adult males bright red on crown, breast, and rump, but less extensively so than male Cassin's and Purple Finches. Female has plain, unstriped head and heavy streaking on light underside. Immature males less highly colored, often orangish or yellowish on head and breast.
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L. 5-6" (13-15 cm)<br />
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Distribution==
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'''Male'''<br />
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Resident throughout western North America, from southern Canada to southern Mexico, and east to Nebraska. Introduced and now widespread in eastern North America.
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Bright red on crown, breast, and rump.  A yellow carotinoid variant is sometimes seen (photo below).<br />
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'''Female'''<br />
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Plain, unstriped head and heavy streaking on light underside
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[[Image:HouseFinchFemale_Honolulu.JPG‎|thumb|350px|right|Female<br />Photo by {{user|AlanR|AlanR}}<br />[[Honolulu]], March 2007]]
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'''Immature males'''<br />
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Less highly coloured, often orangish or yellowish on head and breast
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'''Geographical variation'''<br />
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In north-west Mexico is a region where House Finch males are extensively red and with much less brownish streaking on the underside<sup>[[#References|[2]]]</sup> (probably subspecies ''ruberrimus'').
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==Distribution==
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[[North America]], [[Canada]] to southern [[Mexico]]
 
==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
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Formerly placed in genus [[:Category:Carpodacus|Carpodacus]].
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====Subspecies====
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[[Image:Housefinch yellow variant.jpg‎|thumb|300px|right|The yellow carotinoid variant<br />Photo by {{user|digishooter|digishooter}}<br />Kern Co, CA, [[USA]], May 2011]]
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This is a [[Dictionary_M-S#M|polytypic]] species consisting of twelve subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
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*''H. m. frontalis'': South-western [[Canada]] to western [[US]], [[Baja California]] and north-western [[Mexico]]
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*''H. m. clementis'': Channel Islands (off southern [[California]]) and Los Coronados Islands (off northern Baja)
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*''H. m. amplus'': Guadalupe Island (off [[Baja California]])
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*''H. m. ruberrimus'': Southern [[Baja California]] and north-western [[Mexico]] (Sonora, southern Sinaloa and south-western Chihuahua)
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*''H. m. rhodopnus'': Arid tropical central Sinaloa
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*''H. m. coccineus'': Mountains of south-western [[Mexico]] (southern Nayarit and western Zacatecas to western Michoacán)
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*''H. m. potosinus'': Southern [[Texas]] (Rio Grande Valley) to Chihuahua and south-western Tamaulipas
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*''H. m. centralis'': Central [[Mexico|Mexican]] plateau (Guanajuato, Querétaro and adjacent states)
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*''H. m. mexicanus'': South central [[Mexico|Mexican]] plateau (eastern Michoacán to Hidalgo and Oaxaca)
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*''H. m. roseipectus'': Southern [[Mexico]] (southern Puebla and Valley of Oaxaca)
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[[Image:House-Finch4.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Young Male<br />Photo by {{user|UncleGus_24|UncleGus_24}}<br />Green Valley, [[Arizona]], [[USA]], February 2010]]
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*''H.. m. griscomi'': South-western [[Mexico]] (Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero)
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*''H. m. mcgregori'': Formerly San Benito and Cedros island (off [[Baja California]]). Extinct
 
==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
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In the East, cities and residential areas; in the West, Chaparral, deserts, and orchards, as well as coastal valleys that were formerly forested with redwood, cedar, or Douglas fir but have now become suburban.
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Deserts, orchards, coastal valleys and forests.
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==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
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Nesting: 3-5 bluish, lightly streaked or spotted eggs, with each pair breeding 2-4 times a summer; tightly woven, compact nest set in a bush, thicket, natural cavity, or on a building.
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====Breeding====
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Voice: A chirp call like that of a young House Sparrow. The song is an extensive series of warbling notes ending in a zeee, canarylike but without the musical trills and rolls. Sings from a high tree, antenna, or similar post for prolonged periods.
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A tightly woven, compact nest is made and set in a bush, thicket, natural cavity, or on a building. The clutch consists of 3-5 bluish, lightly streaked or spotted eggs.
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====Diet====
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House Finches are omnivorous, gleaning insect pests and, in winter, grass and weed seeds. Garden-bred birds join large field flocks during the fall, often feeding in farmers' fields, and may become agricultural pests. The eastern population of this species is descended from cage birds released near New York City in the 1940s. For years the birds barely survived on Long Island, but they then spread in suburban areas. In the late 1960s and 1970s they finally established themselves in urban New York, where their musical song and bright colors add a cheerful touch. The last several years have seen population declines in many areas due to an eye disease which leaves them quite vulnerable to predation.
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Diet includes insects and grass seeds.
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==References==
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#{{Ref-Clements6thAug11}}#[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1732763#post1732763 Birdforum thread] discussing redder House Finch in Mexico
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{{ref}}
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
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*[http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php?mcats=all&what=allfields&si=Carpodacus+mexicanus View more images of House Finch in the gallery]
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{{GSearch|Finch+mexicanus}}
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[[Category:Birds]]
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<br />
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{{Video|House_Finch}}
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[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Haemorhous]] [[Category:Videos]]

Revision as of 20:40, 1 February 2013

Male
Photo by skiel
Orange County, New York, USA, March 2006
Haemorhous mexicanus

Carpodacus mexicanus

Identification

L. 5-6" (13-15 cm)
Male
Bright red on crown, breast, and rump. A yellow carotinoid variant is sometimes seen (photo below).
Female
Plain, unstriped head and heavy streaking on light underside

Female
Photo by AlanR
Honolulu, March 2007

Immature males
Less highly coloured, often orangish or yellowish on head and breast

Geographical variation
In north-west Mexico is a region where House Finch males are extensively red and with much less brownish streaking on the underside[2] (probably subspecies ruberrimus).

Distribution

North America, Canada to southern Mexico

Taxonomy

Formerly placed in genus Carpodacus.

Subspecies

The yellow carotinoid variant
Photo by digishooter
Kern Co, CA, USA, May 2011

This is a polytypic species consisting of twelve subspecies[1]:

  • H. m. ruberrimus: Southern Baja California and north-western Mexico (Sonora, southern Sinaloa and south-western Chihuahua)
  • H. m. rhodopnus: Arid tropical central Sinaloa
  • H. m. coccineus: Mountains of south-western Mexico (southern Nayarit and western Zacatecas to western Michoacán)
  • H. m. potosinus: Southern Texas (Rio Grande Valley) to Chihuahua and south-western Tamaulipas
  • H. m. centralis: Central Mexican plateau (Guanajuato, Querétaro and adjacent states)
  • H. m. mexicanus: South central Mexican plateau (eastern Michoacán to Hidalgo and Oaxaca)
  • H. m. roseipectus: Southern Mexico (southern Puebla and Valley of Oaxaca)
Young Male
Photo by UncleGus_24
Green Valley, Arizona, USA, February 2010
  • H.. m. griscomi: South-western Mexico (Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero)
  • H. m. mcgregori: Formerly San Benito and Cedros island (off Baja California). Extinct

Habitat

Deserts, orchards, coastal valleys and forests.

Behaviour

Breeding

A tightly woven, compact nest is made and set in a bush, thicket, natural cavity, or on a building. The clutch consists of 3-5 bluish, lightly streaked or spotted eggs.

Diet

Diet includes insects and grass seeds.

References

  1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
  2. Birdforum thread discussing redder House Finch in Mexico

Recommended Citation

External Links


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