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    Sunday, January 6, 2008

    Maybe the seed had too much oil on it, or maybe it was just too windy. Either way, if at first you don’t succeed…

    house finch with seed

    A delicious seed.

    house finch with seed 2

    Oops!

    house finch with seed 3

    Hmmm.

    house finch with seed 4

    Let’s try again.

    house finch with seed 5

    house finch with seed 6

    Success!


    House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus – also known as Le roselin familier (French), Mexicaanse Roodmus (Dutch), Hausgimpel (Germany), Ciuffolotto messicano (Italian), Carpodaco Común (Spanish), and Husrosenfink (Swedish).

    This bird is one of the most common birds in Eastern Iowa. The House Finch can be found here year-round, both at city feeders and in rural areas. The bird appears to be fairly common throughout most of the Midwest, but is noticeably absent in Nebraska and the Dakotas, according to most bird books.

    The bird on the left with the red is the male, the bird on the right is the female.

    Photo taken with the Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D and a Sigma 70-300mm Lens on December 30, 2007 in Davenport, Iowa.

    Related posts:

    1. House Finch, Male
    2. House Sparrow and Dark-Eyed Juncos Waiting for Seed
    3. House Finch, Female
    4. House Finch – Male Getting Sun
    5. House Finch – Female Getting Sun

    Posted by: Moe in: Birds,Iowa at 6:00 am

    Permalink | trackback (right click and save) | 
    9 Responses to “House Finch – Hold On to That Seed!”
    1. 1
      Santa Says:

      Nice feeder.

    2. 2
      Sisah Says:

      Wonderful photos of native birds in your country you are showing here on your site. It seems I need a special lens to improve the quality of my photos. I also took some of the winterfeeding of birds, but they are not half as good as those you took.
      “Hausgimpel” are not native here in Germany, there is a similar species (Karmingimpel / Common Rosefinch / Roselin cramoisi / Carpodacus erythrinus) you can find in the north of Germany though.
      Have a nice GTS sunday!
      Sisah from Germany

    3. 3
      Chicago Nature Lady Says:

      Oh what wonderful finch feeding photos! I especially love the seed flying away from the male as he’s looking at it. That’s FUNNY!LOL.

    4. 4
      Sally Says:

      Wow – Cool photos! I’m never sure whether I’m looking at house finches or purple finches (I think I have both). My book says the markings around the female’s eyes are the most distinguishing characteristic to tell them apart. (Can you tell I’m not a “real” birder – just a backyard feeder enthusiast?)

    5. 5
      Moe Says:

      Thank you for all the comments (and thanks for the feeder, Santa).

      Sisah – I would love to come check out the birds in Europe. Unfortunately, when I was in Europe I was not in to birding!

      Chicago Nature Lady – that is my favorite of the set, too. He looks like he’s a bit dejected watching it fly away!

      Sally – I can’t tell the difference between them either, other than what the book says about the female eye-stripe. Thus, I’ve actually concluded that I have nothing but House Finches, simply because I haven’t found any female with the stripe!

    6. 6
      The Birdfreak Team Says:

      Great photo series and funny too! The House Finch was my nephew Dakota’s first bird of 2008.

      Good birding to you!

    7. 7
      sandy Says:

      fantastic. I love the seed being thrown out….

      sandy

    8. 8
      Jean Says:

      It seems the house finch scares the yellow goldfinch away. Is this true? I’ve put out 3 feeders so they have more options, but I still do not see as many yellow finchs here at my house.. My neighbor has a lot of them.

    9. 9
      Moe Says:

      I generally do not have a problem with house finches and goldfinches feeding together. I’ve never encountered them having any problems with each other. Sorry!

    Leave a Reply


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