[Birdtalk] Pink Finch Identification

[Kristin Purdy]

Ann,

I felt the same way you do about distinguishing between House and Cassin's 
Finches when I arrived in Utah. After all, the Cassin's range map covers the 
whole state; they must be at my feeder, right?!? I didn't know Cassin's 
seasonal movements are irregular and sometimes clinal. I think I looked at 
EVERY SINGLE feeder finch for 18 months, wondering if THAT one was a 
Cassin's. And then one day I walked through my kitchen, glanced at the 
feeder outside the window and knew the moment had arrived. Cassin's were on 
the feeder. Studying every fine detail of House Finches prepared me to ID 
Cassin's in an instant.

Size:  Cassin's are larger than House Finches and have different 
proportions. This is especially obvious when the two species are together; 
the Cassin's actually looks bulky and robust next to a House Finch.

Proportions: Cassin's have shorter tails, which contributes to their bulky 
look. House Finches have proportionately longer tails and shorter wings, so 
their tails just look longer. The House Finch's tail will be the longest of 
any finch species when you see a mixed flock of silhouettes in a treetop.

Beak: Cassin's and House Finches both have conical seed-cracking bills, but 
the Cassin's is larger and edges are less curved. The culmen (top side of 
the upper beak) is relatively straight on a Cassin's and very curved on a 
House Finch. The line that forms between the upper and lower mandibles when 
the beak is closed is also more curved on a House Finch and straight on a 
Cassin's.

Crown Shape: Cassin's Finches tend to have more pointed and angular crown 
shapes, plus they raise and lower their crown feathers more often. House 
Finches have very rounded crowns and I don't remember seeing the shape 
change much. A male House Finch plumage character might give a different 
impression; because of the band of color across the male House Finch's 
forehead, sometimes they look to me like they have puffy foreheads.

Plumage characters, males:
Male Cassin's Finches are distinctly pink, raspberry, and the brown streaked 
backs have a pink wash. The crown is the raspberry part and it contrasts 
distinctly with the back of the head and the side of the face. In addition, 
the face has a defined pattern including pale pink streak from behind the 
eye to the back of the neck, brown auricular patch, pale pink cheek under 
the eye, and brown malar.

Male House Finches may look pink, yellow, reddish or orange. The most 
prominent facial feature is what I call their visor--a fat band of color 
that extends across the forehead and over both eyes. The distinctiveness of 
this feature is variable. House Finches may also show brownish auriculars.

Breast color/pattern: Cassin's Finches breasts are mostly unmarked and pink. 
They have a little streaking along the sides, but the streaking is not 
significant. House Finches have more streaking along the sides and lower 
breast and belly.

Back and wings: Both birds are primarily brown streaked on their backs and 
wings, but Cassin's backs always look washed in pink to me. In addition, 
House Finches are more likely to show a bright rump patch that's the same 
color as the bright areas of the upper body.

Plumage characters, females:
Female Cassin's finches have the same plumage characters as the males, but 
take away the pink and raspberry color and add crisp breast streaks against 
a whitish background. The facial pattern is brown, contrasting with whitish 
where their mates are pink or raspberry. Their breast streaks are narrow and 
crisp. Everything about the female House Finch looks murky to me. Their 
color is grayish-brown, their streaks are fatter and ill-defined; there are 
few patterns that contrast.

Behavior: These are my yard observations only. Cassin's are more wary of 
disturbances, slower to return to feeding areas, but very aggressive toward 
each other and other species. They feed primarily on the ground in seed 
litter and will feed in the trays of hopper feeders. I only rarely see them 
on perches of tube feeders.

Sound: Learn the calls. I first discovered Cassin's in my yard this season 
because I heard them out in the yard. The call note is often described as 
"Chilly-up!", but I haven't found it to be that distinct. It's reminiscent 
of that sound, but also has a warbling tone to it. House Finches tend to do 
just single, simple cheeps or a fast string of them when fighting at the 
feeder.

Use the Utah Birds photo gallery to study both species. Our photographers 
have shared a great collection of images:

Cassin's: http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsA-C/CassinsFinch.htm

House: http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsD-K/HouseFinch.htm

Kris