Identifying House Finches, Purple Finches, Gold Finches and Pine Siskins - the Finches of west Cobb!
Greetings fellow birders! We’d like to introduce you to some of our most frequent guests here in Georgia (the state, not the country). Meet the Finch family! Finches are mostly seed eaters and will commonly visit your feeders if you have sunflower, safflower and especially thistle. They seem to love the hulled sunflower meats or whole safflower the most, with the one exception mentioned below.
Let's get right into it: What are the various types of Finches of West Cobb? Let’s start with the most common, and most likely to nest in the grocery store or local home improvement warehouse signage: The House Finch. The male has a reddish purple head for the entire year but it becomes quite a bit more pronounced during the Spring and early Summer months as they grow their “breeding plumage” or the feathers that help them attract a mate. The female is identical in size and shape but completely lacks this red/purple coloration. She is entirely brown and off-white, with small streaks.
Next, let’s introduce everyone’s favorite Finch: The American Goldfinch. The male is typically bright yellow with a very sharp, contrasting bit of black on the head, wings and tail. When perched or in flight, you’ll even see some bright white accents. The female American Goldfinch looks identical in size and shape, however her colors look quite a bit more dull or subdued. You may even notice a bit of brown mixed into the yellow. She also will lack the dark black on the head, wings and tail. If you see one that has some black, but not nearly as much as the adult male pictured here, it’s likely a juvenile male.
Our next feathered friend is one that many people confuse with the House Finch. This is the Purple Finch. The male Purple Finch has more of a purple hue than the male house Finch, and there is also some brownish streaking/patterning on the head. Purple Finches are typically seen here in Georgia during the winter months when many have migrated South for the holidays.
Now our least favorite here at Birds of West Cobb (kidding! Although they sure do leave a lot of tiny poop spots behind when they have visited in the past). Of course we are talking about Pine Siskins. These smaller finches travel in massive flocks in the Fall/Winter and we may not see them for several years, but then they will really show up in full force. During the Winter of 2020 we counted around 80 and then lost track. They are constantly moving and changing positions so we took a photo and tried counting them while they were still. These birds are mostly brown and off-white with small streaks much like a female purple or house Finch, however they will have small yellow accents on their wings and tails. The Male will have a bit more coloration.
