The Purple Finch - Carpodacus purpureus – its habitat is coniferous and mixed forest. On the U.S. Pacific coast it is varies wooded areas. Birds from northern Canada migrate to the southern United States for the winter, while other birds are permanent residents. This is the state bird of New Hampshire.

Description

A rather chunky finch with a short forked brown tail and brown wings. Adult males are raspberry red on the head, breast, back and rump with a streaked back. 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. Their flight is undulating.

Call

The call is a musical chur-lee, and a sharp pit given in flight and the song is a rich warbling.

Food

They mainly eat seeds, berries and insects. They are fond of sunflower seeds, millet, and thistle. These birds forage in trees and bushes, sometimes in ground vegetation.

Breeding

Monogamous pairs usually nest on a horizontal branch or in the fork of a conifer tree, typically well out from the trunk. The female builds the nest, which is a compact, open cup made of twigs, weeds, and rootlets, and lined with fine grass, hair and moss. The female incubates 3 to 5 eggs for 12 to 13 days. The male brings food to the female while she incubates, and both adults bring food to the chicks. The young leave the nest after 13 to 16 days. The young can fly weakly when they first fledge and stay close to the nest for at least two more weeks before dispersing. Pairs generally raise two broods each season.

Conservation Status – Least Concern

Fairly common.  Rare throughout much of the interior west. 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.

Bird watching

Look for them in forests, where you’re likely to hear their warbling song from the highest parts of the trees. During winter you can find them in a wider variety of habitats, including shrublands, old fields, forest edges, and backyards.

New Hampshire Hotspots

Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

The Great Bay Wildlife Refuge

White Mountain National Forest

Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary

Beaver Brook Association Lands

Bellamy Wildlife Management Area

Adams Point Wildlife Management Area

Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Sandy Point Discovery Center

Chapman's Landing

Odiorne Point State Park

Isles Of Shoals

Seabrook Harbor

Minot J. Ross Bird Sanctuary

Pond Parish Town Forest

The B & H Trail

Lake Umabagog National Wildlife Refuge

Wapack National Wildlife Refuge

Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge

Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge

John Hay National Wildlife Refuge

Karner Blue Butterfly National Wildlife Refuge

Wapack National Wildlife Refuge

Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge

Sheldrick Forest Preserve

Green Hills Preserve

Hurlbert Swamp