Cassin's Finch
Encyclopedia
Cassin's Finch is a bird
in the finch
family
Fringillidae. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch
genus Carpodacus, but they likely belong in a distinct genus Burrica.
Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings. They have a longer bill than the Purple Finch
. Adult males are raspberry
red on the head, breast, back and rump; their back and undertail are streaked. Adult females have light brown upperparts and light underparts with brown streaks throughout; their facial markings are less distinct than those of the female Purple Finch.
Their breeding habitat is coniferous forest in mountains of western North America
as far south as northern New Mexico
and Arizona
; also Southern
California
near Baja California
. They nest in a large conifer. They move to lower elevations in winter.
Birds from Canada
migrate
south; other birds are permanent residents; non-breeding resident birds winter as far south as central interior Mexico
, the Mexican Plateau
. Besides the 'breeding-residency' locale of southwest Canada, two disjunct
breeding areas occur: the coastal mountains of extreme northern California
and the Black Hills
of South Dakota
.
These birds forage in trees, sometimes in ground vegetation. They mainly eat seeds, buds and berries, some insects. When not nesting, they often feed in small flocks.
This bird was named after John Cassin
, who was a curator at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Fringillidae. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch
Rosefinch
The rosefinches are birds in the finch family Fringillidae. Most Carpodacus species are called "rosefinches", but the three North American species are simply called "finches". As the names imply, various shades of red are the characteristic plumage colours of this group...
genus Carpodacus, but they likely belong in a distinct genus Burrica.
Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings. They have a longer bill than the Purple Finch
Purple Finch
The Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae.-Taxonomy:The Purple Finch is one of 24 birds in the genus Carpodacus and is included in the finch...
. Adult males are raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
red on the head, breast, back and rump; their back and undertail are streaked. Adult females have light brown upperparts and light underparts with brown streaks throughout; their facial markings are less distinct than those of the female Purple Finch.
Their breeding habitat is coniferous forest in mountains of western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
as far south as northern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
; also Southern
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
near Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. They nest in a large conifer. They move to lower elevations in winter.
Birds from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
south; other birds are permanent residents; non-breeding resident birds winter as far south as central interior Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, the Mexican Plateau
Mexican Plateau
The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano or Altiplanicie Mexicana, is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico...
. Besides the 'breeding-residency' locale of southwest Canada, two disjunct
Disjunct distribution
In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...
breeding areas occur: the coastal mountains of extreme northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
These birds forage in trees, sometimes in ground vegetation. They mainly eat seeds, buds and berries, some insects. When not nesting, they often feed in small flocks.
This bird was named after John Cassin
John Cassin
John Cassin was an American ornithologist.He is considered to be one of the giants of American ornithology, and was America's first taxonomist, describing 198 birds not previously mentioned by Alexander Wilson and John James Audubon...
, who was a curator at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.