Need help with red bird ID in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA (1 Viewer)

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KellyVance

New member

• Jun 6, 2006

• #1

I've lived here for thirty years and have never seen this bird before. I've tried my bird ID book and can't find anything that looks like it. HELP!

A cardinal is on the left, the mystery bird is on the right.

I apologize for the photo--it was taken through two panes of glass and a screen. But you can see that the bird in question is tiny compared to a cardinal. The female comes often as well, and is totally brown.

Thanks for your help.
~Kelly

 

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Last edited: Jun 6, 2006

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pattiwhite

Well-known member

• Jun 6, 2006

• #2

KellyVance said:

I've lived her for thirty years and have never seen this bird before. I've tried my bird ID book and can't find anything that looks like it. HELP!

A cardinal is on the left, the mystery bird is on the right.

I apologize for the photo--it was taken through two panes of glass and a screen. But you can see that the bird in question is tiny compared to a cardinal. The female comes often as well, and is totally brown.

Thanks for your help.
~Kelly

Click to expand...

i call them red finches but i think the real name is Purple Finch..LOL

 

S

streatham

Well-known member

• Jun 6, 2006

• #3

Hi Kelly,

It's a male House Finch.

Luke

 

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pattiwhite

Well-known member

• Jun 6, 2006

• #4

also..stan tekiela makes $12 books for each state and i just swear by it. look it up..maybe can find used.
patti

 

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pattiwhite

Well-known member

• Jun 6, 2006

• #5

streatham said:

Hi Kelly,

It's a male House Finch.

Luke

Click to expand...

i tried to compare the two species..hard to tell the difference.
patti

 

K

KellyVance

New member

• Jun 6, 2006

• #6

streatham said:

Hi Kelly,

It's a male House Finch.

Luke

Click to expand...

Luke, is it common for them to be this skinny? He's really thin, which is why I discounted the finch originally. The female is thin as well. Or is it a summer thing?

 

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W

wvbirdeer

Member

• Jun 6, 2006

• #7

streatham said:

Hi Kelly,

It's a male House Finch.

Luke

Click to expand...

Yep. Definitely a house finch.

 

KC Foggin

Very, very long time member

Supporter

• Jun 6, 2006

• #8

Hi Kelly and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum :t:

Yes, that is a male House Finch.

 

steveo

King Midas in reverse

• Jun 7, 2006

• #9

Its is a male house finch look at the heavy streaking on the belly

 

C

cavan wood

Well-known member

• Jun 7, 2006

• #10

KellyVance said:

Luke, is it common for them to be this skinny? He's really thin, which is why I discounted the finch originally. The female is thin as well. Or is it a summer thing?

Click to expand...

Birds do tend to look thinner in hot weather as they flatten their pelage to release heat, but I don't see this bird looking particularly thinner than I'd expect.

Scott

 

Katy Penland

Well-known member

• Jun 7, 2006

• #11

Agree with Scott, just a slicked-down, probably overly warm, male House Finch.

I addition to the heavy streaking, look at the way the color pattern forms on the head. In House Finch, you'll only see the color on the forehead and over the eyes -- never on the crown (as in Purple Finch or, in the west, Cassin's Finch). Even in the photo, you can see where there are brown feathers showing on the crown above the red "eyebrow." There are other ID differences between Purple and House, but looking at how the head color is distributed is the easiest (IMHO) especially if you can only see the upper side of the bird (as when they're ground-feeding).

Good shot to compare the sizes between these two species. It's often so hard to judge relative sizes when seeing birds individually. :t: