tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932006719438255120.post8541185964297236275..comments2024-02-17T08:17:19.283-05:00Comments on The Nomadic Naturalist: Interesting finch from Rainy RiverMike Burrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15000855366937140854noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932006719438255120.post-39330305390473275512020-01-09T11:31:30.509-05:002020-01-09T11:31:30.509-05:00Hi! I know this post is over 6 years old, but I st...Hi! I know this post is over 6 years old, but I stumbled upon it trying to find out how common house finch x purple finch hybrids might be. Turns out they are very rare, but since I'm here, I'll let you know this is definitely a purple finch, just an oddly colored one. There are many field marks that indicate this in addition to those pointed out by Ron & Jean. This bird is stockier than a house finch and has a heftier and more importantly straighter bill. House finches have a curved culmen. Although it's difficult to see, this bird also has slightly lighter color in two thick stripes above and below the eye, which on this bird appear red-orange in contrast to the brown color between them just behind the eye. On most male purple finches this field mark is just a lighter shade of raspberry red in contrast to a deeper raspberry red, but house finches lack this mark entirely. There is a very faint short streaking under the wing, which would be long, prominent and dark on a house finch. Also, there is a faint wash of the red color that extends down on the wings, which wouldn't be present on a house finch. Finally, this bird has a sometimes-visible pointed crown as seen in photos 5-9, which house finches also lack. All of these marks point to a pure Purple Finch. Perhaps you had already learned all this in the past 6+ years, but in case anyone else stumbles upon this like me, now they'll know, too. Happy birding!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16393690067505752094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932006719438255120.post-36886588680810189062013-10-13T19:26:42.249-04:002013-10-13T19:26:42.249-04:00I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest ...I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up!<br />I'll go ahead and bookmark your website to come <br />back in the future. Many thanks<br /><br />Also visit my website: carrier bags (<a href="http://workshop.thousandtongues.org/index.php?action=profile&u=217502" rel="nofollow"></a>)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932006719438255120.post-16613761330315908942013-06-23T07:37:57.851-04:002013-06-23T07:37:57.851-04:00Hi Mike. Interesting bird. The Birds of North Amer...Hi Mike. Interesting bird. The Birds of North America (2012) mentions one documented case of a Purple x House Finch hybrid in the wild (Wootton 1996). We asked Michel Gosselin of the Canadian Museum to look at the photos. Michel said "I found at least one similar-coloured Purple Finch in the collection (Manitoulin, summer 1982), so I am reluctant to say it's a hybrid." Your bird shows two distinct Purple Finch characters: (1) a prominent pale area between eye and bill and (2) a forked tail. Colour variations are expected as in related finches. Ron and JeanRon Pittaway & Jean Ironhttp://www.jeaniron.ca/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8932006719438255120.post-9683704510134197282013-06-17T19:51:02.997-04:002013-06-17T19:51:02.997-04:00Years ago I had a similar bird at my feeder here i...Years ago I had a similar bird at my feeder here in Wallaceburg. Wasn't sure what to think of it, but it was 'in-between'!Blake A. Mannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11773931667770190780noreply@blogger.com