Haemorhous Purpureus, Purple Finch

Day 131: Ornithologist-naturalist Roger Tory Peterson had the most marvelous way with words. In his field guide, he aptly describes the Purple Finch as looking "like a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice." While this description could also apply to House Finch, where the two species occur together, another distinctive marking separates them in the field, and for this aide-memoire, you can thank your correspondent: "Houses have shingles," i.e., the breast is strongly marked by dark streaks, whereas in Purple Finch, the breast is clear. However, when you're updating your Life List, be sure to make a note in your field guide. Purple Finch has been the target of those fiendish taxonomists and is no longer called "Carpodacus purpureus." It is now Haemorhous purpureus, "Haemorhous" is also reflected in the nomenclature for Cassin's Finch and House Finch after DNA proved that the American species are unrelated to Eurasian rosefinches.