Identification - The House Finch a about the size of a sparrow. The male is a slim, brown-striped bird with a red forehead, eyebrow, and throat. The red coloration, even in the rump, can vary from scarlet to orange. The belly and sides are streaked with brown. The adult female lacks the red and has a very plain unstreaked face.
Morsels - House Finches have spread so fast over eastern North America that their range expansion has been called a true population explosion. Formerly restricted to the western United States, House Finches were absent from the East until 1940 when a few birds were introduced to Long Island. After a slow start, this population began to spread. By 1978 House Finches were common all over New England. A mere nine years later the species was common from southern Michigan south to eastern Louisiana and east to the Atlantic states.