Bird Directory

Purple Finch Click on picture to hear bird sounds.	Bird Name: Purple Finch
	Field Marks: The Purple Finch is not really purple. The male Purple Finch has a brown and mixed rose back while the rest of it is rosy. The female is brown with light eyebrows. It has dark brown cheeks and its body is heavily striped. The tail of the Purple Finch is deeply forked and it has a thick, heavy bill.
	Feeder Food: Sunflower seeds, mixed seeds, nuts
	Natural Food: Seeds, insects, fruit, berries, buds and flower petals of the tree and shrubs
	Behavior: A finch is a rival for the food at your feeder. It will scare away other birds by leaning forward and raising the feathers on top of its head. It will add to its threat by opening its bill and flicking its wings and tail. You will see them at your feeder during years when their favorite trees have few seeds. Male Purple Finches will energetically sing and flutter their wings to attract females during courtship. Song: pur-lee, and a sharp chink

Pictures and sounds were reproduced by permission.

Sources:

Alden, Peter and Brian Cassie, National Audubon Society Field Guide To New England, New York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1998.

Dawe, Neil and Karen, The Bird Book, New York: Workman Publishing, 1988.

Elliott, Lang, Know Your Bird Sounds (cassette), Minocqua, WI: NorthWord Press, Inc., 1994.

Forbush, Edward Howe, Birds of Massachusetts, Norwood, Massachusetts: Norwood Press, 1929.

Reed, Chester R., Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1951.

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