1125 W 3300 S, South Salt Lake, UT 84119 | www.jordanrivernaturecenter.org

House Finch feeder of the fledglings. Females can lay anywhere Haemorhous mexicanus from 2-6 eggs per clutch, laying only one egg per day. The incubation period is 12-14 days.

FEEDING AND HABITS ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ House finches eat exclusively plant material like seeds, buds, and fruits from a variety of plants, including poison oak! At backyard bird feeders they will eat black oil sunflower seeds and thistle (nyjer) seed.

ADAPTATIONS ​ ● Their thick strong beak allows for finches to crack open tough seed shells. ● House finches can be relatively aggressive toward other birds and are known to drive other DESCRIPTION birds away from feeders. ​ House finches are small-bodied birds with short ● They are able to make nests nearly anywhere so wings and a relatively long tail. They have large beaks house finches can live in almost any for their body size and flat heads. Males are red environment. around the face and upper breast with a streaked ECOLOGY AND STATUS brown back and tail and belly. The females have a ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ brown back and indistinct head and a streaked House finches are originally native to Mexico and the brown and white belly. southwestern U.S. However, they were brought to the eastern U.S. for the pet trade and ended up RANGE ​ being released. They were able to adapt easily to House finches are native to the western United their new environment and spread rapidly across the States and were introduced in the eastern U.S. in the U.S. In the 1990’s house finches’ populations in the 1940’s and Hawaii in the 1870’s. eastern U.S. crashed due to parasites (mycoplasmal conjunctivitis) but are recovering. There are still large HABITAT ​ populations of house finches with this parasite. They House finches are frequently seen in urban areas are a species of least concern according to the IUCN. including parks and backyards, including along the FUN FACTS Jordan River. In the western U.S., where they are ​ ​ ​ native, they can also be found in open woods, ● House finch males get their pinkish-red color from deserts, and grasslands. the foods they eat. Females prefer males with more vibrant red coloring because it serves as a REPRODUCTION ​ ​ ​ signal that the male is proficient at finding House finch males sing a musical song, and females consistent food sources. sing a simpler version. Females will initiate a ● House finches feed their nestlings exclusively courtship behavior where she will peck at a males plant food. Most birds who are herbivorous as beak and he will then pretend to regurgitate food adults will usually still find insects or other protein several times before actually feeding her. Nests are sources to feed their growing young. either reused from previous years or built in cavities, natural or manmade, several meters off the ground by the female finches. The male feeds the female during breeding and incubation and is the primary INFORMATION COMPILED BY TRACY AVIARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 2020. Document info and pictures obtained from one or all of the ​ ​ following sources: Animal Diversity Web.. Creative Commons. Utah Division of Wildlife Services. USGS.Web; The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Web; All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Web.; .