House Finches
(Carpodacus mexicanus) ORDER: PASSERIFORMES l FAMILY: FRINGILLIDAE
We have a finch feeder in our backyard and we
have spent hours enjoying them. Finches can be very loving. However,
finches also bicker with each
other all the time. Before I started to observe them at my feeder, I
thought that finches were peaceful creatures, singing in the trees.
Even when there is plenty of food, they chase one another away. The
females are just as guilty as the males.
Female Finch about to Land
~ April 12, 009
Manhattan Beach, CA
Male finch feeding its baby ~ May 1, 2010
Manhattan Beach, CA
"The red or yellow color of a male House Finch
comes from pigments that it gets in its food during molts. The more
pigment in the food, the redder the male. Females prefer to mate with
the reddest male they can find, perhaps assuring that they get a
capable male who can find enough food to feed the
nest.
~Cornell Lab of Ornithology