Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...
A photo of a Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus), male
Purple Finch, Male

Purple Finch

Haemorhous purpureus

The Purple Finch, Haemorhous purpureus, is a small bird with a robust build, measuring 12–16 cm in length and weighing 18–32 g. Males are adorned with a vibrant raspberry red hue on their head, breast, back, and rump, with a streaked back, while females exhibit light brown upperparts and white underparts with dark brown streaks, and a distinctive white line above the eye.

Identification Tips

To identify the Purple Finch, look for the male's striking red plumage and the female's streaked appearance with a white eye line. The subspecies H. p. californicus can be distinguished by its longer tail, shorter wings, and more greenish tinge in females.

Habitat

The Purple Finch can be found in coniferous and mixed forests across Canada and the northeastern United States, as well as in various wooded areas along the Pacific coast of the U.S.

Distribution

This species breeds in the northern United States, southern Canada, and the west coast of North America. Birds from the northernmost parts of their range tend to migrate southward for the winter.

Behaviour

The Purple Finch is known to be displaced by the House Finch and House Sparrow in some areas. They exhibit a preference for foraging in trees and bushes, and sometimes on the ground.

Song & Calls

Unfortunately, the source provided does not include information on the song and calls of the Purple Finch.

Breeding

Females typically build open cup-shaped nests on horizontal branches of coniferous trees, using rootlets, twigs, and weeds, and lining them with grass, hair, and moss.

Similar Species

The House Finch is a similar species that often outcompetes the Purple Finch in their shared habitats.

Diet and Feeding

Purple Finches primarily consume seeds, berries, and insects, showing a particular fondness for sunflower seeds, millet, and thistle.

Conservation status

The Purple Finch is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, although there has been a noted decline in the eastern population due to competition with the House Finch.

App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Purple Finches on Birda

Photos
Sightings

More Finches, Euphonias

A photo of a Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret) , male

Lesser Redpoll

Acanthis cabaret
Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Nedz53
Really useful
Downloaded to give it a try, everything worked perfectly, recorded my first bird watching walk. Very impressed. Have already recommended to friends!
Jake W
Great app
I use this app all the time as it’s quick and easy to log individual sightings or whole birding sessions. It’s an excellent way to meet new people and the forum is full of really friendly people. The challenges are a great way to get involved and learn more about birds. Cannot recommend it enough!
Robred 2
Fun way to add to your birdwatching experience
I enjoy watching birds in my backyard, but this app helped me really pay attention while on vacation this summer. It was fun to add new birds to my bird watching app.
Ellesse_W
Learning Birding with Birda
I’m relatively new to birding as a hobby, and Birda is a great way to keep track off all the species I see. I’m still working on my ID skills, but the app is great for figuring out potential species, and the online community is so friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend Birda to both early and serious birders! ðŸĶ
Stewart W
Fantastic to be involved
Fantastic to be involved, great for mental health and gets you responding with the Challenges that are to takd part in.
Dan R
Great app for bird fanatics
Great app for bird fanatics - very user friendly and a perfect place to share sightings.
SW H
Wonderful App
Birda is my go to app for keeping records of my bird sightings and sessions. It has fantastic information which is great at aiding identification. With all the updates that are coming in the new year, this app is something special.
Marlster24
Recommend for any bird watcher
Very wholesome app: I joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter 😃
Louise L
Easy to use and accurate
Love this app. It is easy to use and accurate, Their backup communication is really good. I noted a missing species. All through the process, I was kept informed about the progress in correcting the information. I now have the corrected, updated version. 😁 Thanks!
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright ÂĐ 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.