Voices and Vocabularies: House Finch or Purple Finch

In parts of the United States, House Finches overlap with similar-looking Purple Finches. Their distinct songs help us sort them out. House Finch songs are jumbled and have a sharp, buzzy note — especially during the breeding season. Purple Finches’ songs, on the other hand, are smoother and lack the buzzy note.

BirdNote^®

Voices and Vocabularies: House Finch or Purple Finch

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

[House Finch song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/45348#_ga=2.200857582.1175400770.1549…, 0.06-.09]

A typical House Finch song has a raspy edge and tumbles forward in a jumbled series of notes. Especially during breeding season, the song has a sharp, buzzy note,

[only the chur-ree chur-ree from House Finch song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/45348#_ga=2.200857582.1175400770.1549…, 0.06-.09]

like at the end of this one:

[House Finch song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/45348#_ga=2.200857582.1175400770.1549…, 0.06-.09]

In parts of the United States, House Finches overlap with similar-looking Purple Finches. Their distinct songs help us sort them out.

Compared with House Finch songs, Purple Finch songs are faster and roll along smoothly, as a brisk series of warbled phrases.

[Purple Finch song, West, https://www.xeno-canto.org/160261, 0.02-.04]

And Purple Finches don’t throw in that sharp buzzy note

[only the chur-ree chur-ree from House Finch song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/45348#_ga=2.200857582.1175400770.1549…, 0.06-.09]

that tags many House Finch songs.

Purple Finches in the West

[Purple Finch song, West, https://www.xeno-canto.org/160261, 0.02-.04]

sing a little differently from those in the East.

[Purple Finch song, East, https://www.xeno-canto.org/53777, 0.16-.19].

But these variations are much more similar to each other than to House Finch songs.

Let’s listen again. House Finch? Jumbled.

[House Finch song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/45348#_ga=2.200857582.1175400770.1549…, 0.06-.09]

Purple Finch? Smooth.

[Purple Finch song, West, https://www.xeno-canto.org/160261, 0.02-.04]

But both are music to the ears.

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

Today’s show brought to you by the Bobolink Foundation.

###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Digital Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. House Finch ML 45348 recorded by R. Little, Purple Finch Xeno-Canto 160261 recorded by I. Cruickshank, Purple Finch Xeno-Canto 53777 recorded by A. Spencer.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote June 2021 Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# HOFI-PUFI-01-2021-06-18 HOFI-PUFI-01