Tips for identifying two strikingly similar backyard birds.
It’s a rush when you can confidently recognize an elusive or hard-to-identify bird. That burst of adrenaline and pride is just one of the many rewards of being a birder. But the differences between house finches and purple finches are particularly tricky. Here are some important things to know about these look-alike birds when they stop to visit your feeder.
1. Range
The house finch is commonly found throughout much of the Lower 48. The range of the purple finch is restricted to the dense forests of the West Coast, southern Canada and the northeastern U.S. during breeding season. And purple finches may be seen anywhere in the southeastern states during fall, winter and spring.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October/November 2018-Ausgabe von Birds & Bloom.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October/November 2018-Ausgabe von Birds & Bloom.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
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