Cassin's finch

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Cassin's finch
Male
Female

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Haemorhous
Species:
H. cassinii
Binomial name
Haemorhous cassinii
(Baird, 1854)
blue: breeding; green: year-round; yellow: wintering
Synonyms
  • Burrica cassinii
  • Carpodacus cassinii

Cassin's finch (Haemorhous cassinii) is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are placed in the genus Haemorhous.

Description

Measurements:[2]

  • Length: 6.3 in (16 cm)
  • Weight: 0.8-1.2 oz (24-34 g)
  • Wingspan: 9.8-10.6 in (25-27 cm)

Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings. They have a longer bill than the purple finch. Adult males are raspberry red on the head, breast, back and rump; their back and undertail are streaked. Adult females have light brown upperparts and light underparts with brown streaks throughout; their facial markings are less distinct than those of the female purple finch.

Their breeding habitat is coniferous forest in mountains of western North America as far south as northern New Mexico and Arizona; also Southern California near Baja California. They nest in large conifers. They move to lower elevations in winter.

Northernmost breeding birds

residents, however. Some non-breeding birds winter as far south as central interior Mexico
.

These birds forage in trees, sometimes in ground vegetation. They mainly eat seeds, buds and berries, some insects. When not nesting, they often feed in small flocks.

This bird was named after John Cassin, who was a curator at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

References

External links