Sparrow Dipped In Raspberry Juice

Day 205: For all of the fact that David Sibley's bird illustrations are often even better than real life because he has placed subtle emphasis on critical field identification points, you cannot beat Roger Tory Peterson's lyrical descriptions. Take Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) for example. Of its colouration, Peterson says that it looks like a "sparrow dipped in raspberry juice." How apt! Without its pinkish wash, this bird would be just one more LBJ ("Little Brown Job"), and indeed the females are just that, although their heavier bills will clue observant birders into their true nature. Both Sibley and Peterson point to the blurry breast markings to distinguish this species from House Finch. I say, "Houses have shingles," i.e., strong brown flecks on the breast, whereas Purples look like their dye jobs ran down their shirt fronts in the rain. Cassin's (another similar species) could almost be said to be a blend of the two. It has streaked flanks only slightly lighter than those of House Finch, but the blurry breast markings of Purple. A trained eye can distinguish brighter red on Cassin's crown, although this feature is fairly difficult to detect. Good luck to you if you live in an area where the ranges overlap as they do here!

We Are Not Amused

Day 181: A six-inch accumulation of snow in April is an unusual occurrence even at my mountain abode, and the friends who have flown here from the south expecting spring to welcome them with buds and blossoms are not exactly pleased with current events. I'm keeping their feeders well stocked, and itis obvious to me by the sheer number of birds gathering that the food sources on which they would normally have depended are presently severely limited. At any one time, I may have a hundred or more finches, juncoes, towhees, grosbeaks, sparrows, etc. standing shoulder to shoulder on the ground beneath the seed trays, ready to grab the scattered spillage as quickly as it lands in the snow. There are very few arguments, surprisingly, except for space on the trays where the grosbeaks attempt to repel all boarders and, having greater bulk, are most often successful. They and the Purple Finches are the bright spots of colour on a grey, dreary and expressly unseasonable landscape.

Yard Birds

Day 205: I don't want to bore my readers with too many posts of my sketching attempts, but on the other hand, I'm rather proud of what I've accomplished with the help of "Laws Guide to Drawing Birds." Each of these was based on a photo I've taken of the respective species: American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis, formerly Carduelis), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens), Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus), Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus). In the case of the female Purple Finch, I changed up the background to reflect a behaviour I observed recently. Several Purps settled in on my blueberry bushes in late afternoon and began plucking the blossoms! Cornell advises that they consume nectar by biting the base of the flower. The bushes are now netted and outfitted with mylar ribbon, and now I understand why I didn't get many blueberries last year. The drawings were executed in a combination of ink and coloured pencil, and the wing detail in the Pine Siskin was a real challenge to maintain.

Sparrow Dipped In Raspberry Juice

Day 170: Roger Tory Peterson's "Field Guide to Western Birds" was my first bird guide and still remains a favourite, balancing just about equally with that by David Allen Sibley. I frequently use the two side-by-side to compare the finer points of identification, and on any given occasion, it may be one or the other which tips the scales. That said, Peterson wins hands-down when it comes to humour, describing Purple Finch (recently reclassified as Haemorhous purpureus) as looking like "a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice." To differentiate Purple Finch from House Finch where the two species occur together, simply remember that "houses have shingles." The breast of House Finch is marked by distinct dark flecks while that of the raspberry-juice-dipped-sparrow are blurry and pale. East Coast populations of Purple Finch are darker than those found on the West Coast. The females of both are coarsely streaked, the only factor which saves them from being lumped as "LBJs" or "Little Brown Jobs" in birder parlance. Purple Finches eat a wide variety of foods, including seeds, insects, nectar, young leaf buds and fruit.

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.