Overview

The house finch is one of North America's most familiar feeder birds, with males showing variable red on the head, chest, and rump — the colour comes from pigments in their food, so diet affects how vivid they appear. Females are plain brown and streaked.

Native to the western US, house finches were sold illegally as cage birds in New York in the 1940s. When released, they spread eastward and now occupy nearly every corner of the continent, adapting easily to cities, suburbs, and farms.

Habitat

House finches live wherever people do: city parks, suburban gardens, strip-mall plantings, and farmyards. They nest on ledges, in hanging baskets, and in evergreen wreaths as readily as in natural tree cavities.

Countries found

House Finch in United States

Interesting facts

01
House finches were released in New York in 1940 and spread across North America.
02
Male redness depends on diet — carotenoids from berries and seeds deepen the colour.
03
Their warbling song can include mimicked snippets of other birds.

Conservation status

LC — Least Concern

House finches are Least Concern and abundant. Populations in eastern states were reduced by a bacterial eye disease in the 1990s but have largely recovered.