Posing a question: can/do Purple finch & House finch interbreed? When I compare the photo Denis Plank posted on 5-25 and the one I posted on 5-13 in the avian gallery with the images of both finches in my Birds of Illinois guide book I can see features from both finches in the photos. One thing which I see in both images is the more intense red colors when compared to most of the house finches I see here in central Illinois. According to my guide Purple finches do not nest in Illinois, but House finches do. Just thought I would ask.
Purple Finches are often described as "dipped in raspberry juice" and I've always found that a good way to differentiate the two species.
There's a lot of color variation in House Finches, from yellow to orange and the abundant red variation. The red is brightest when the birds are breeding.
Is your Birds of Illinois a true field guide or simply a collection of photos of birds that occur there? A true field guide will have better information on the features you should look for beyond color - things like where the streaking is, the shape of the bill, and facial pattern. It will also show the female plumage (female Purple Finches look much different than female House Finches with a facial pattern that suggests grosbeaks).
Discussion
1 repliesThanks for in comments in advance.
Purple Finches are often described as "dipped in raspberry juice" and I've always found that a good way to differentiate the two species.
There's a lot of color variation in House Finches, from yellow to orange and the abundant red variation. The red is brightest when the birds are breeding.
Is your Birds of Illinois a true field guide or simply a collection of photos of birds that occur there? A true field guide will have better information on the features you should look for beyond color - things like where the streaking is, the shape of the bill, and facial pattern. It will also show the female plumage (female Purple Finches look much different than female House Finches with a facial pattern that suggests grosbeaks).
Dennis Plank's Purple Finch
John Tobias' House Finch