It’s common for house finches to make this sound even as they fly. The call note can be abrupt and sharp and can sometimes sound like a ‘cheep’. Compared to purple finches, house finches sound rougher and less melodic. The song pallet of house finches is limited to a warbling song composed of short notes and that can last for up to 3 seconds. Females usually sing a warbling song that lasts for up to 2 minutes. Male purple finches have three types of songs – an up-and-down cadence that touches 2 to 5 notes, a warbling song, which is fast and rising and encompasses up to 23 different notes, but also a territory song, which they usually sing alone. On the other hand, the house finch’s call is louder and also longer, and it resembles a ‘chirp’. The purple finch’s call note is softer and resembles a ‘pik’ or a ‘tek’. However, their call notes do differ, and they can be used to distinguish a house finch vs purple finch. How can you make the difference between a common house finch and a purple finch song? Unfortunately, the sounds that both of these species make are quite similar. Not territorial & social (they live in flocks throughout the year)

Territorial and solitary (except for the winter) Pink or rosy red on most of its body (males)īrownish overall white streaks on its underparts (females) What do house finches eat compared to their purple counterparts? Well, there aren’t too many differences in this respect as both species prefer sunflower seeds and sunflower meats, and neither has a problem with visiting finch feeders to get the energy they need.ģ types of songs (cadence, warbling, territory song) call note sounds like ‘tek’ġ type of song (warbling song) call note sounds like a ‘chirp’ How long do finches live? Both species have an average life span of 11 years, but it can go up to 14 years. Female purple finches have dark cheek patches and a white streak over their eyes - something that you aren’t going to find in female house finches. The females differ too, even though to an untrained eye, they can look very similar. Even though they have a similar size and weight, the male house finch has a red to orange tint on its head, whereas the male purple finch has a reddish-purple color on most of its body. The main difference between a house finch and purple finch is their coloring. When the house sparrow is added to the mix, the purple finch population declines even more. Moreover, the purple finch has gradually become less common in the Eastern parts of the continent as the house finch outcompetes it. While there are a wide variety of finch types that exist in the world, these two are among the most common ones in the US and Canada. What are the differences between a purple finch vs house finch? Telling one from the other is easy and in today’s article, we invite you on a fun journey packed with house and purple finch facts.īoth purple and house finches can be found across North America, and both prefer habitats that are coniferous. But making the difference between them can sometimes be tricky, especially since house finches don’t live in houses and purple finches aren’t even purple. House finches and purple finches have become a favorite of birders and people who have bird feeders installed in their backyard.

House finch vs purple finch