HOUSE FINCH 311 



uniform streaking of the under parts; also by the less terrestrial habits. 



Oakleigh Thome (1956) states that persons encountering difficulty 

 in identifying finches for banding purposes, with the bird in the hand, 

 have a number of distinguishing marks to guide them. Particularly, 

 the bill of the house finch is very stubby as compared with that of the 

 Cassin's finch, or other races, including the eastern purple finch. 

 The house finch is slightly smaller than the Cassin's and has a more 

 "round" head. Cassin's usually shows a slight crest. The house 

 finch tends to have a square-ended tail, whereas the tail of the purple 

 finch is rather forked. The Cassin's tends to sit rather still while 

 feeding at a banding station and flies away silently after banding. 

 The house finch is more noisy and nervous, and inevitably utters a 

 chirp upon being released. The house finch has rather long, slender 

 tarsi: those of the Cassin's are rather short and stocky 



The foregoing statements apply to both sexes and all ages. Female 

 or young house finches have brown streakings on a buff background 

 on the breast, Cassin's has darker brown streaking, or elongated dots, 

 on a white background, and thus appears to be the more distinctly 

 streaked bird. The house finch shows a uniform tone over the whole 

 head; the Cassin's shows distinct areas of light and dark. Ear, or 

 cheek patches, and malar stripes are darker. 



The adult male Cassin's has a rose-red or "old rose" colored head. 

 The bright red is restricted to the crown, with a wash, rather than 

 dense color, on the face and breast. In the house finch this bright 

 red includes most of the head and breast. Cassin's has an unmarked 

 belly, whereas the house finch has browm streakings on the belly 

 and breast. 



Enemies. — The abundance of the house finch is evidence that it 

 has no enemies serious enough to hold it in check where food, water, 

 and shelter are available. Its habit of nesting around buildings 

 protects it from many wild predators, though domestic cats take 

 their toll of any nestlings that leave the nest before they are in full 

 command of their wings. For some unexplained reason there are 

 very few records of parasitism by cowbirds, despite the fact that 

 the nests are not very well concealed. 



In some parts of California poisoning campaigns have been carried 

 on by orchardists, but the effects, if any, have been local. Bergtold 

 (1913) expressed the fear that the house finch would ultimately be 

 supplanted by the house sparrow in the cities, because of the latter's 

 aggressive disposition, superior strength, and longer breeding period. 

 However, the waning of the house sparrow's ascendency in more 

 recent years would seem to lessen that danger, and there is no need 

 to fear for the future of the house finch. 



