A female house finch

By Aaron Horrell

This little songbird is native to the western United States, but has been introduced into the eastern side by man. It has become fairly common across most of the United States. The bird I show here is called the house finch. It competes directly with another native North American finch called the purple finch.

As the house finch spread its range across the U.S., it brought along with it a disease that affects the eyes of the purple finch, causing its eyes to swell shut. This in turn has made it hard for the purple finches that became infected to see well enough to find food. The purple finch has been on the decline for several years because of this eye disease.

Finches eat many kinds of ripe seeds and berries. They also eat small insects such as aphids. The house finch is sometimes a migratory bird, but often is a year round resident in Southeast Missouri. This bird will come to your backyard bird feeder at all times of the year.

Take note of the way this bird is using the undersides of its toes to grasp the limb it is on. The sharp toenails do not hold the limb. Most birds that find safety in trees grasp limbs in this same way. The toenails are used when the bird is on the ground.