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Bird name:

Purple Finch

Carpodacus purpureusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Finches (Fringillidae)
Codes: Common Name: PUFI Scientific Name: CARPUR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179186

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous, Forest edge, Mountains, Scrub vegetation areas



Breeding Type:

Monogamous



Breeding Population:

Fairly common



Egg Color:

Light green blue with black and briwn markings



Number of Eggs:

3 - 5



Incubation Days:

13



Egg Incubator:

Female



Nest Material:

Twigs, weeds, rootlets, strips of bark, and string with moss and grass lining.



Migration:

Northern birds migrate



Splitbar

Recommended Products:

Clingers Only Feeder
Weather resistant inexpensive feeder is ideal for small birds.
Suet Delight
Easy to hang and maintain, holds all kinds of packaged suet.
Ultimate Woodpecker Feeder
Only allows woodpeckers to feed made of Inland Cedar.
The No-No Copper Feeder
Beautiful copper feeder holds 2.5 lbs of sunflower seeds.
Attracting Clingers

General

Purple Finch: Medium-sized finch with rose-red body and brown streaks on nape and back. Sides, flanks, and belly are dull white with red wash; sides show thick, faint streaks. Wings and notched tail are brown. Female has streaked brown upperparts, heavily streaked dull white underparts, pronounced pale stripe behind eye, dark jaw stripe, and two pale wing-bars. Juvenile resembles adult female.

Range and Habitat

Purple Finch: Breeds from British Columbia east to Newfoundland, southward in the western mountains to California and from eastern Minnesota east to West Virginia. Spends winters south to the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include mixed and coniferous woodlands and ornamental conifers located in gardens.

Breeding and Nesting

Purple Finch: Three to five light green blue eggs, marked with black and brown, are laid in a well-made cup of grass and twigs, often lined with hair, and built in a conifer. Eggs are incubated for 13 days by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Purple Finch: Diet consists mostly of seeds, buds, blossoms, and fruits, usually taken from outer branches of trees and occasionally from the ground.

Readily Eats

Peanuts, Suet, Millet, Fruit, Sunflower Seeds (hulled), Commercial Mixed Bird Seed

Vocalization

Purple Finch: Song is a rich, musical warble. Call is a distinctive "tick" in flight.

Similar Species

Purple Finch: House Finch has brown streaks on breast and belly, less red on head, longer tail, and different call. Cassin's Finch has streaked undertail coverts, larger bill, and weakly notched tail.

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Family Buntings, Finches, Sparrows (Emberizidae)_blue
Species Carpodacus purpureus
Length5.5 - 6.25 Inches
Wingspan9.875 Inches

Purple Finch

Purple Finch: Medium finch, rose-red body, brown streaks on nape, back. Sides, flanks, belly are dull white with red wash; sides show thick, faint streaks. Brown wings, notched tail. Eats seeds, fruits, insects and caterpillars. Swift flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "tick"

● Foraging & Feeding: Purple Finch: Diet consists mostly of seeds, buds, blossoms, and fruits, usually taken from outer branches of trees and occasionally from the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Purple Finch: Three to five light green blue eggs, marked with black and brown, are laid in a well-made cup of grass and twigs, often lined with hair, and built in a conifer. Eggs are incubated for 13 days by the female.

● Similar species: Purple Finch: House Finch has brown streaks on breast and belly, less red on head, longer tail, and different call. Cassin's Finch has streaked undertail coverts, larger bill, and weakly notched tail.

Flight Pattern

Swift bounding flight with rapid wing beats.
Purple Finch Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Purple Finch: Breeds from British Columbia east to Newfoundland, southward in the western mountains to California and from eastern Minnesota east to West Virginia. Spends winters south to the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include mixed and coniferous woodlands and ornamental conifers located in gardens.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common
MigrationNorthern birds migrate
Weight1.2 Ounces
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
NapeX
Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX