House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) John Brenneman
Grandville, Kent Co., MI May, 200 © John VanOrman (Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II)
Bright red (sometimes orange or yellow) expansion in Michigan is evident, with House Finches now found in 81 of the 83 counties. plumage and a cheery song make the mature This figure is an increase from the 61 counties male House Finch one of the most recognizable House Finches were found in during MBBA I. birds at a Michigan bird feeder. The female in contrast has an unremarkable brown and white This northward expansion was also found in striped plumage that is often confused with the atlases adjacent to Michigan. During the second female Purple Finch. The House Finch also breeding bird atlas of Ontario, House Finches called “Mexican Finch” or “Hollywood Finch” were found in almost all squares in southern because its original home range was mainly Ontario and also had some confirmed breeding contained to the American west and southwest records in northern Ontario (Leckie 2007). The was originally non-existent in the eastern part of Wisconsin breeding bird atlas reported 60% of the United States. This changed in 1940 when their atlas quads having House Finch and illegally sold caged birds were released in Long extending into the more populated areas in Island, New York (Elliott and Arbib 1953) northern Wisconsin (Cutright et al. 2006). which led to a rapid expansion of the House
Finch and its range now covers most of the In Michigan the number of SLP townships continental United States. reporting House Finches has almost doubled
from MBBA I to nearly 92% in MBBA II, and Distribution in the NLP the number of townships reporting The House Finch’s success and expanding House Finches has increased from 11% in population can be attributed to the increase of MBBA I to 54% in MBBA II. The UP, with its suburban sprawl and the transformation of large sparse human population and fewer areas of forested and open areas into the more parks like appropriate habitat, has also seen an expansion setting that the House Finch prefers. MBBA II of House Finches with no birds being detected had Confirmed breeding and the highest during MBBA I to 7% of townships reporting population densities of House Finch located in birds during MBBA II. This expansion of the most urbanized areas with the largest cities House Finches into the UP could be explained such as Detroit, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, Grand by a northward movement of birds coming out Rapids, and Traverse City. Comparing the of northern Wisconsin into the adjacent counties maps from MBBA I to MBBA II a northward
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) John Brenneman of Menominee, Dickinson, Delta, Alger and declined rapidly but after that has leveled off at Marquette. The eastern and western portions of approximately a third of its peak population the UP however, still lack House Finches. (Leckie 2007).
Breeding Biology The increase in the number of House Finches House Finches can thrive in suburban settings can also be seen in Christmas Bird Count Data, by nesting in a wide range of locations including and the Winter Feeder Count Data that have flower pots, lamp posts, and many of the been collected by the Kalamazoo Nature Center ornamental trees and shrubs typically found in for over 30 years. House Finch was in the top lawns and parks (Hill 1991). House Finches can 10 of the most common feeder birds in also lay as many as six clutches of eggs during a Michigan during the 2009 winter season (KNC breeding season although they have not been unpublished data). The National Audubon observed fledging more than three broods with Society’s Christmas Bird Count Data also shows plentiful and dependable food sources available a growing trend with only six of the 41 counts (Hill 1993). Suburban areas often provide water that took place in 1983 reporting House Finch and food in the form of bird feeders, bird baths while in 2008 this number grew significantly and fountains. Dandelion seeds, which are found with House Finch reported on 57 of the 65 in many lawns and parks, are a particularly counts done in that year (NAS 2009). favored seed food source that House Finches feed their young (Bergtold 1913). Conservation Needs The House Finch is under no conservation Abundance and Population Trends threat. The main threat to the population could (Click to view trends from the BBS) be from the disease, Mycoplasmal In the Great Lakes Region, Michigan’s House conjunctivitis. The first report of this disease Finch population is among the largest, estimated was in suburban Washington D.C. in January of at 480,000 individuals by Partners in Flight (PIF 1994 (Dhondt et al. 1998). Mycoplasmal 2007). This is compared to Ohio with 650,000, conjunctivitis is a respiratory infection with one Indiana with 290,000, Wisconsin with 190,000, of the main symptoms being red and swollen and Ontario with 170,000. However the second eyes. The disease itself does not usually kill the breeding bird atlas of Ontario estimates the bird outright, but does impair vision and the province’s population at 250,000 individuals overall health of the bird to the point that it will based on point count data taken during their either starve to death or become an easy target atlas period (Leckie 2007) for predators. Initially this disease was isolated to House Finches but has more recently been Since 1983, USFWS Conservation Region 3 has found in other common birdfeeder species shown an increase of 6% per year according to including, American Goldfinch, Purple Finch, BBS data (Sauer et al. 2008). In Michigan the Pine and Evening Grosbeak and a few others BBS data also reflect the House Finch’s because it is highly contagious (CLO 2008). population increase since 1983 with an 8% increase per year. Other states also show Due to its tolerance of human settlement and increases with Wisconsin at a 9%, Indiana at a disturbance, House Finches will likely be found 5%, and Ohio with a 1% increase (Sauer et al. in high abundance into the foreseeable future. 2008). Ontario had a 2% decrease since 1988 (Collins and Downes 2009) but this was due to the appearance of Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in 1995. During the next six years the population
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) John Brenneman
Literature Cited Partners in Flight (PIF). 2007. PIF Landbird Population Estimates Database [web Bergtold, W.H. (1913). A Study of the House application]. Version 2004. Rocky Finch. Auk 30: 40-73. Mountain Bird Observatory. Collins, B.T. and C.M. Downes, 2009.
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center