Just a gentle reminder that brown Purple Finches, unlike House Finches, 
can be either young (either sex) or females as the males do not get the 
full plumage until after the first breeding season. It has been a long 
time since we have had many Purple Finches and it is easy to get confused 
but molts of Purple and Cassin's Finch are very different than those of 
the House Finch.

Cheers,
Kathy

M. Kathleen Klimkiewicz, Biologist
USGS Patuxent WRC BBL
12100 Beech Forest RD STE 4037
Laurel MD 20708-4037
301-497-5795 work
Fax 301-497-5717

Report bands: reportband.gov and get instant feedback!
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl 





gmcdonald2006 <> 
Sent by: Maryland Birds & Birding <>
12/02/2007 10:58 AM
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Subject
[MDOSPREY] House finch flock yard birds






A flock of at least 30 House Finches has shown up at our feeder this 
morning.  While once they were resident, for the last 10 years or more, 
House Finch has become a very uncommon occurrence  in our yard.

So far, we have not seen any purple finches in this group.  Two weeks 
ago, we had a couple female Purple Finches in a flock of many 
A.Goldfinches, but they have not been seen lately and the goldfinches 
are just a small handful.  We do have 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches showing 
up every now & then.

As reported by others, the finches are much more interested in the 
sunflower seed than in the Nyger thistle.

Georgia McDonald    Towson, Balt Co.