Cassin's Finches

Even after only a couple years birding in Arizona, it's not often that I encounter a new bird species in my home state, let alone in my very own yard.  So you can imagine my surprise after I recently identified my very first Cassin's finch at my weekend home in Prescott.

I don't visit that area frequently in the colder months, but on my occasional winter and early spring visits I still fill the seed feeder that gives me hours of birding fun in the warmer weather.   Because it had been empty for a few weeks, most birds had wisely moved on to more dependable sources of food.   So I wasn't completely surprised - just a bit impatient - when the feeder still remained bird-less the day after I had replenished it.

Eventually I noticed a few house finches stopping to feed, initially disappointing me because they are quite common birds in every corner of the state.   But before long, I was thrilled to see more unique mountain birds like chickadees, nuthatches, juncos and even hairy woodpeckers begin visiting.

However, the house finches started to peak my interest for several reasons.  They seemed to be in a larger group than I normally witness, and in fact they seemed somewhat larger sized too.  And the males especially seemed different, with their red markings a little more delineated, displaying a pinker hue overall, and - among at least one or two - sporting bushier crowns.

I couldn't get very close to them, so I had to rely on photographing them through a window.  A day later, when I was back in Phoenix studying my shots, I discovered that indeed these house finches were quite different than normal - they were Cassin's finches, a completely separate species.  Their beaks were longer and pointier than those of house finches, while the males indeed had red crowns bordered by brown napes below and showed fewer streaks on their torso's. 

The Cassin's finch breeds in the northern Rocky Mountains, and often winters in the very southern part of the mountain range or further south into Mexico.  I don't know if I encountered a migrating flock or just a wintering group that stumbled upon my feeder.   In any case, I don't expect to see them on my next visit to the Prescott area.  But I'll start paying closer attention to the ever-present house finch for now on.  Who knows, maybe the next one will turn out to be another first-time sighting like the purple finch!

Cassin's finch, male, in Prescott.

For comparison, a male house finch, in Phoenix. Note that his beak is less pointed, and his red head's coloring not delineated at his neck with a brown nape, like those of a male Cassin's finch.

Male Cassin's finch at a feeder in Prescott.  His torso is less streaked than that of a house finch, and he's got a pinker hue. 

Female Cassin's finch at a Prescott feeder.

Cassin's finches at a feeder in Prescott, Arizona.