Purple Finch
Encyclopedia
The Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, is a bird in the finch
family
Fringillidae.
Carpodacus and is included in the finch
family
, Fringillidae, which is made up of passerine
bird
s found in northern hemisphere and Africa
. The Purple Finch was originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin
in 1789.
There are two subspecies of the Purple Finch, C. p. purpureus and C. p. californicus. C. p. californicus was identified by Spencer F. Baird in 1858. It differs from the nominate subspecies in that it has a longer tail and shorter wing. The plumage
of both males and females are darker, and the coloration of the females is more greenish. The bill of C. p. californicus is also longer than that of the nominate subspecies.
red on the head, breast, back and rump; their back is streaked. Adult females have light brown upperparts and white underparts with dark brown streaks throughout; they have a white line on the face above the eye.
and the northeastern United States
, as well as various wooded areas along the U.S. Pacific coast. They nest on a horizontal branch or in a fork of a tree.
Birds from northern Canada migrate
to the southern United States; other birds are permanent residents.
The Purple Finch population has declined sharply in the East due to the House Finch
. Most of the time, when these two species collide, the House Finch outcompetes the Purple Finch. This bird has been also displaced from some habitat by the introduced House Sparrow
.
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
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
Fringillidae.
Taxonomy
The Purple Finch is one of 24 birds in the genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Carpodacus and is included in the finch
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, which is made up of passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
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...
s found in northern hemisphere and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The Purple Finch was originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin
Johann Friedrich Gmelin
Johann Friedrich Gmelin was a German naturalist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist and malacologist.- Education :Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp Friedrich Gmelin in 1748 in Tübingen...
in 1789.
There are two subspecies of the Purple Finch, C. p. purpureus and C. p. californicus. C. p. californicus was identified by Spencer F. Baird in 1858. It differs from the nominate subspecies in that it has a longer tail and shorter wing. The plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
of both males and females are darker, and the coloration of the females is more greenish. The bill of C. p. californicus is also longer than that of the nominate subspecies.
Description
Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings and are about 15 cm (4 in) in length and weigh 34 g (1.2 oz). Adult males are raspberryRaspberry
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 is streaked. Adult females have light brown upperparts and white underparts with dark brown streaks throughout; they have a white line on the face above the eye.
Habitat and distribution
Their breeding habitat is coniferous and mixed forest in CanadaCanada
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...
and the northeastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as well as various wooded areas along the U.S. Pacific coast. They nest on a horizontal branch or in a fork of a tree.
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...
to the southern United States; other birds are permanent residents.
The Purple Finch population has declined sharply in the East due to the House Finch
House Finch
The House Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae, which is found in North America. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch genus Carpodacus...
. Most of the time, when these two species collide, the House Finch outcompetes the Purple Finch. This bird has been also displaced from some habitat by the introduced House Sparrow
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
.