Thanks for your responses. I now have strong opinions from both sides. Kevin's suggestion is particularly helpful, because by viewing both species side by side, I can keep my laptop display at one angle which theoretically should provide an accurate comparison of color provided the chromaticity of the cameras being used is accurate. In this instance I can observe that the demonstration bird for Purple Finch is indeed the raspberry color I would expect, and using this as a reference, Sidney's bird does appear to be the color I would expect from a House Finch. Also, the side-by-side comparison does reveal a slightly more curved culmen on the bird in question, which is characteristic of House Finch. Now, with the information supplied by Tom Prestby that House Finches don't necessarily have streaked underparts, I have something to start watching for that I've missed all these years. As to John Ottinger's question, I believe I can answer that one. House Finches far outnumber Purple Finches in the southern part of the state. Purple Finches are by no means rare, but they are irruptive, and numbers vary from year to year. As a matter of fact I did see a female Purple Finch at Bong on 3/26 (a much easier ID). I've been using Wisbirdn for less than 6 months, but I find it to be a tremendous resource with the spectacular photos, great rarity reports, progress on migration throughout the state, and thought provoking discussions such as this. Thanks to Sidney for posting his photos and to the others for taking the time to respond to my questions. Thomas Wood,Menomonee Falls, Waukesha County -----Original Message----- From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kevin Kearns Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 8:18 PM To: 'Wisbird' Subject: [wisb] Re: RFI:Finch ID Just one more word, here are two images that can be viewed side by side using tabs to make a nice side by side comparison of the differences. The finch in question https://picasaweb.google.com/hammsidney/PineGrosbeak#5714321561383659458 Purple Finch http://www.bird-friends.com/pics/PurpleFinch/PurpleFinch0LR.jpg Kevin Kearns Lake Mills -----Original Message----- From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Kevin Kearns Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 8:12 PM To: 'Wisbird' Subject: [wisb] Re: RFI:Finch ID I would agree whole heartedly with Tom on this ID, I see no reason why it would be considered a Purple finch. As Tom mentioned, the bird is very rosey red, there is not a hint of the "purplish" color that you would expect from a Purple Finch. The wings are almost entirely gray where a PF would have reddish/purplish highlights throughout and the bill is hefty where Purples actually have a more pointed bill than a House finch. The facial disc is very defined with an outstanding dark area, a PF would have a more diffuse red throughout the area. Kevin Kearns Lake Mills -----Original Message----- From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of tom prestby Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2012 7:50 PM To: little_blue_birdie@xxxxxxx; Wisbird Subject: [wisb] Re: RFI:Finch ID Chris and all, This bird looks like a classic House Finch with a little more red than normal. Although it is rosier than normal it does not fall outside the lines for House Finch. Don't let the bill confuse you, the bill can look large in zoomed in pictures like these, especially depending on the angle. Most important are the gray wings and gray eyeline and cheek, neither of which a Purple Finch will have. Purple Finches should have a pinkish wash on top of the gray in the wings which this bird does not have. This bird does lack streaking but I don't consider that important for outruling House Finch either. The shape always seems different too, Purple Finches seem chunkier. Of all the House and Purple Finches I have seen, I would not think twice about this being a House Finch. Tom Prestby Hayward, Sawyer Cty > From: little_blue_birdie@xxxxxxx > To: tcwood729@xxxxxxxxx; wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [wisb] Re: RFI:Finch ID > Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 17:27:40 -0600 > > Tom and all, > For reference purposes, Sid's photos are of a Purple Finch. The bird > in Sid's photos has a larger bill than would be expected on a House Finch, lack of any streaking at all, brilliant red coloring all the way down through the chest, flanks and belly, and, most importantly, has a brown line through the eye which accentuates the red supercilium. I've found this combination of field marks to be highly reliable when identifying Purple vs House Finch. > > > > > Happy Birding! --Chris W, Richland County Interpretive Naturalist Mississippi Explorer Cruises > http://mississippiexplorer.com/chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > http://swallowtailedkite.blogspot.com/ > http://www.nabirding.com/http://www.flickr.com/photos/swallowtailphoto > > "The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the composer; but when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again." > > (From William Beebe's "The Bird: Its Form and Function," 1906) > > > From: tcwood729@xxxxxxxxx > > To: Wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > Subject: [wisb] RFI:Finch ID > > Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 17:17:36 -0600 > > > > Sidney Hamm's last post about the finch he photgraphed at Bong has > > me realizing I have a lot to learn about Finch ID. > > Because I live in the southern part of the state, I see very few > > Purple Finches during the year, and I'm usually looking up at them. > > Those of you > > who > > live in the northern tier of counties probably see them regularly at your > > feeders. Do any of the Purple Finches you see have as much brown on > > the crown and cheeks as the bird in Sidney's photo? > > The House Finches I see around here all have streaking on the > > underparts and > > this is a major field mark mentioned in the field guides. So, conversely, > > does anyone see House Finches with unstreaked underparts as seen on > > the photo? > > I find color to be the least useful ID mark with bird photos on my laptop. > > Depending on how I have the screen tilted I can make the bird look > > anywhere from the raspberry red of a Purple Finch to the brighter > > red of a > > House Finch. This is due to the characteristics of an LCD display. > > The bill looks large for a House Finch, but perhaps that is because > > Sidney's lens puts the bird right in our face. We can't see the tail notch > > which would help with the ID. > > Thanks in advance for any advice. > > > > Thomas Wood, Menomonee Falls, Waukesha County > > > > #################### > > You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding Network (Wisbirdn). > > To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn > > To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn > > Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: > > //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn > > > > > > #################### > You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding Network (Wisbirdn). > To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn > To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn > Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn > > #################### You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding Network (Wisbirdn). 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