House Finch

LC - Least Concern

N5 - Secure

SNA - Not applicable

not listed

The male has a bright red “eyebrow” line and a brown cap. The back is streaked brown. The flanks, belly, and undertail coverts are heavily streaked.

5″ to 6″ in length

9½″ wingspan

Urban and suburban areas, rural areas with buildings and lawns.

Mexico and the southwestern United States

Widespread and common year-round resident except in the northeast, where it is uncommon to rare year-round resident

House Finch is native to Mexico and the southwestern United States. In the early twentieth century it was captured and sold illegally in eastern pet stores as the “Hollywood Finch", named for its striking good looks. In the 1940’s New York began to enforce existing songbird regulations, and pet store owners released their House Finches to avoid prosecution. The birds adapted well to their new environment and spread rapidly, displacing the native Purple Finch. By 1968 they were common in the east from Cape Cod to the Virginia Tidewater Region. Today their range covers every state in the lower 48 and the southern tier of every Canadian border province. In Minnesota they are common in all but a handful of northern counties, where they are present but in small numbers.

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

This bird was formerly placed with the Old World finches in the genus Carpodacus.

Location: feeder in Chanhassen