Each egg weighs approximately 2.4 g and takes about 13 or 14 days to hatch. The female lays 3 to 6 bluish or greenish-white eggs that have black spots near the large end. They are made of grasses, hair, or other available fibers, and are built in shrubs, cactuses, tree cavities, buildings, on tree branches, or in bird boxes. The female builds the nests, which are shallow and cup-shaped. A breeding pair may lay as many as 6 clutches of eggs in one summer, but they usually can only successfully raise up to 3 clutches. House finches breed between March and August. A very red-colored male signals that he is healthy and a good forager, and that he would therefore be a good mate. The red color comes from the foods the male eats. Males also feed their mate (called courtship feeding) and guard their mate from other males.įemales seem to prefer males that have bright red feathers. In the "butterfly flight", the male flies 20 to 30 m into the air and then slowly glides to a perch while singing a loud continuous song. Males try to attract a female mate by performing courtship displays, such as the "butterfly flight". Males and females begin to look for mates in winter, and have formed breeding pairs by the time the breeding season begins. House finches are monogamous (one male mates with one female). These animals are found in the following types of habitat.In their new range in the eastern United States, house finches are rarely found far from urban and suburban areas. House finches are found in open desert, desert grassland, chaparral, oak savannah, riparian areas, and open coniferous forests in the western United States. House finches have also been introduced to the Hawaiian Islands. These newly established eastern populations have since become migratory, and now spend winters in the southern parts of the United States. They now occur from southern Canada south to the Gulf of Mexico, throughout the eastern seaboard and as far west as the Mississippi river. After struggling to survive for several years the population eventually became established and has spread throughout the eastern portion of the United States coast. In the 1940's a shipment of house finches was introduced into Long Island, New York. The native range of house finches extends from Oregon, Idaho and northern Wyoming to California, New Mexico and Mexico, eastward to the western portions of Nebraska, Kansas and Texas. Average basal metabolic rate 0.3108 W AnAge.( Farrand Jr., 1988 Palmer and Fowler, 1975) Purple finches have more reddish color on their upper parts and are not streaked on the abdomen (Farrand, Jr. House finches may be confused with purple finches. Purple Finches have a more reddish color on their upper parts and are not streaked on their abdomens. House Finches may be confused with Purple Finches.
Young house finches look similar to adult females. Females are brownish overall but may also have some pale red coloration. They have a red line over their eyes, their backs are lightly streaked in red, their abdomens are whitish and streaked with brown, and they have brown-streaked wings, sides, and tails. Females are approximately 1.3 cm shorter than males.
Their wings are about 8.4 cm long and tails are about 6.6 cm long. Average adults are 14 cm long and weigh 19 to 22 g.