House Finch or Purple Finch?

When I first began 'birding', distinguishing between house and purple finches was one of the first things I learned. For me it was especially confusing when they were in their winter feather. So, if you're wondering the same thing about some of your feeder birds, this article is for you.

Male and Female

Both sexes of both finches display similar characteristics. The male is always more brightly colored and the female is brown for the most part.

Purple or Red?

The name 'purple' finch is indeed a bit misleading, especially in their winter feather because they do look more red than purple. But in the spring and summer, the males will moult into a beautiful rich red, that almost looks like a mixed purple. The color reminds me of mixing primary red and blue to achieve the secondary purple.
Male house finches on the other hand are most obviously red. Some of them are even a bit of an orange mutation. I am not sure if that is related to genetics or food supply.

Females Are Confusing

In my experience, the females are the most difficult to tell apart unless you know what you're looking for. Female purples are always darker brown than female house finches. Female house finches are almost tan in color. The both have streaked breasts, but the purple finch has more obvious 'stripes'. You're also going to notice a thick streak above and below the female purple finch's eye. I think the eye streak is the fastest way to id along with color in general.


Size Matters

Another distinguishing difference between the two finches is size. Purple finches tend to be a bit larger than house finches. The are a little longer from head to tail tip as well as 'bulkier'.

Other Look Alikes

There are other birds that can be confused for purple and house finches. Certain sparrows favor them as well as female redwing black birds. You may even be apt to mistake a pine siskin for a house finch. Be sure to pay attention to color, body shape and feather markings, bird location(feeder, field, etc), as well as bill shape. These factors will help to narrow your id search down not only when it comes to purple and house finches, but other birds as well.

Happy Birding!

Quick Fact:

House Finches are NOT native Eastern North American birds and are considered a nuisance by some. How'd they get to the eastern side of N.A.? They were caged pets released near NYC in the 1940's.
They are native to western half of the continent. They are also the most prolific carrier of a disease called Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis or House Finch Disease.