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View Full Version : ID - Purple or House Finch?



Stefan Minnig
01-08-2009, 08:36 PM
As an amateur birder, I could use some help. I am leaning though towards purple finch for a couple different reasons.
1. When I first saw this finch (November 25th, 2007 at 9:15 am), I was amazed at how colorful he was, which was enough for me to rush and take three lousy pictures of him. I had previously seen hundreds of house finches, so I was well aware how they looked. Of course, that was the last time I recall seeing any finches of that coloration at my feeders. I do normally see many houses that range in coloration in shades of red, but none of that caliber.
2. I decided to merge a couple photos together in Photoshop. The finch in question was alone so I decided to merge another photo of an identical feeder (except feeder color) which was shot minutes later. Of course, it was nice that the now super-imposed feeder was taken at roughly the same angle and had a known house finch sitting on it. The super-imposed image on top of the underlying image is chopped on purpose to show that the feeder size and angle closely match, as to not scale one bird unfairly. The finch at left, is bigger and bulkier to suggest a purple.
Obviously to some, having a purple finch in the yard is almost as common as having a house sparrow. For me though, this is the only time one MAY have been at the feeder in the 3 years I've been watching. Also, a purple finch identification will add on to the number of species visiting my feeders.
...The reason it COULD be a house finch is that there looks like some streaking apparent on the underside. Mottling maybe? The top photo was adjusted with levels in PS and cropped. The other, I matched the color of the super-imposed photo using color-balance with its underlying counterpart. Otherwise, nothing else was color-corrected. I apologize for the poor quality of the photo(s).
Thanks for your help!

Axel Hildebrandt
01-08-2009, 09:39 PM
It looks like a house finch, too. It would be easier if you had an image showing the bird's chest.

Matthew Pontiff
01-09-2009, 01:26 AM
It's a Purple Finch. Besides the color, the bird by itself appears large and bulky, whereas House Finches are smaller and look more delicate. Also, the facial and head pattern can be seen fairly well in the bottom photo where you can directly compare it to the House Finch. The streaks on the sides are rather indistinct where House Finches are fairly well marked there. Your bird is also showing color on the back and House Finches are streaked brown there.

Matt

John Chardine
01-10-2009, 07:33 AM
These two species cause problems! Here are two Purple Finches from my feeder last May (2008). Stefan's bird has a brownish upper-back whereas these are reddish. Sibley says if it's brownish it's a House Finch and if it's reddish it's a Purple Finch. There seems general less red on the head and more flank streaking in Stefan's bird, which again suggests House.

I agree with Matthew however, that the overall look of Stefan's bird suggests Purple. Confusing isn't it?!

John Chardine
01-10-2009, 07:33 AM
Another Purple Finch aspect.

Stefan Minnig
01-10-2009, 11:56 PM
Thank you for the insight. Determining a house finch from a purple finch can be a lot tougher job if either the quality of the shot is poor, or if there is a bad angle on the bird...in which case I take the prize in both.

John, I appreciate seeing those two purple finch shots. If only I could have shot those pictures...
The second purple you posted is really helpful to me, for it roughly is the same angling as mine, and convinces me further it is a purple for several different reasons.

1. The purple that you shot shows some streaking on the underbelly as well, although there is slightly more apparent on the bird I shot.

2. After you mentioned the brownish back that is typical of a house finch, I studied the backs of both the photos that you shot and both that I shot as well. The second purple that you posted tends to have greater back coloration than the first one you posted, although they were both purples. In my shot, the one at the top left of the picture faintly has more back coloration than the other below it. Such coloration then has much to do with the quality of the shot, lighting and angle of the shot and finally any post-production done to the shot. I forgot to mention earlier, but I did use some color noise reduction in PS, which may have taken out a little coloration on the finch.

3. I do agree also with Matthew about the features matching that of a purple. The distinct separation of color on the face and then the bulkiness and size of the bird points towards purple.

I DO HAVE TWO MORE QUESTIONS TO ASK, which I thought about while reviewing the photos further.
This may help in future house vs. purple indentification. Please give your thoughts.

1. Do purple finches have more of a separation of color from the neck to chest than house finches? It seems that on the purples above, the coloration of red tends to end more abruptly into the white of the chest than on that of a house finch.

2. Do purple finches tend to have more coloration in their bill? The bill, especially the lower mandible, tends to lean on the yellow side for a purple. I rarely see any yellow bill coloration on the houses I've seen. I know that purples typically will have a straighter bill, and not a conical-type one, as that of the house finch.

Again, please feel free to comment.