Cassin's Finch
Haemorhous cassinii
Males have red concentrated on crown (brighter than throat) with pinkish wash coming into breast; flanks are pale with only a few fine streaks. Females are similar to Purple Finch but with more diffuse face pattern and finer streaks on flanks. Both sexes tend to show more peaked head and longer bill than House and Purple Finch. Found in mountainous regions, mainly in coniferous forests, drifting to lower elevations in winter. Visits feeders.
Identification
Measurements:<p>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.<p>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.<p>Northernmost breeding birds migrate south, as do some birds throughout the range of the species; many birds are permanent residents, however. Some non-breeding birds winter as far south as central interior Mexico.<p>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.<p>This bird was named after John Cassin, who was a curator at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Haemorhous cassinii
- Authority
- (Baird, SF, 1854)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Haemorhous
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow Rail
Coturnicops noveboracensis
Exceptionally secretive little rail. Overall the color of a perfectly toasted marshmallow; back pattern more complex with streaks of gold and black crossed by intricate white bars. Almost never seen in the open. When flushed, look for bold white patch on the inner flight feathers. Most similar to juvenile Sora; separable by back pattern and habits. If you're looking at a rail in the open, it's almost certainly not a Yellow Rail. Found in moderately wet marshes and meadows, where it finds cover among dense grasses. Most easily detected at night when it sings a distinctive song that sounds like two stones being tapped together: "tick-tick, tick-tick-tick", almost always in alternating sets of two and three notes, often confused with cricket frogs.
Collared Treepie
Dendrocitta frontalis
Like many other treepies, this is a noisy, social bird, often seen in flocks moving through the canopy and through openings in the forest. Extensively black face, silver hood, and lack of a wing patch distinguish this species from other treepies in its range. Inhabits forests from the lowlands up to montane areas. Loud, with a varied repertoire of whistles, clinks, and squawks.
Singing Quail
Dactylortyx thoracicus
Small, retiring quail of forest understory. Rarely seen, but can be located by listening for noisy rustling in the leaf litter as birds scratch like chickens. Prefers to run away rather than flush. Loud song often reveals its presence, given mainly early and late in the day: first few notes similar to Little Tinamou song, but then breaks into rollicking choruses that can be almost deafening if close by. Male has rusty face and gray body, female colors reversed, with gray face and rusty body.
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