finches

January 23, 2026

Sara Kate Wilkinson

Sara Kate Wilkinson

— 4 min read
January 23, 2026
Bird of the Day: purple finch house finch Purple finch??? purple???? asdhajshdkjashd purple finch, a lifer

Where: Eakin Community Park

When: 7:50am-9:12am

Bird Species: white-throated sparrow, northern cardinal, downy woodpecker, northern flicker, eastern bluebird, blue jay, Carolina chickadee, American crow, tufted titmouse, purple finch (lifer)

SKW BOTD BEHIND THE SCENES:

Okay, don't fret, I am going to tell you some Things I Thought About, but first, we need to talk about today's featured photo and the flurry of research arising therefrom.

What...kind of finch...is that finch? Merlin said purple first, then house. Google images and Apple Photo ID think it's a purple finch. Bluesky pals obligingly repost the question, but only my lovely friend Maggie volunteers an answer- she says purple. Bing images and USGS Dendroica point to purple, as do Wisconsin bird clubs, Pennsylvania bird clubs, and the Audubon Field Guide. I also think it is a purple finch, and therefore, it is a life bird for me. This is important!

I have been experimenting a little with the aperture setting on my camera for low light, so I was aware that colors were showing up unusually vividly in the display, and when I saw this finch I just said "oh, wow, he's SO pretty!" and got off two quick shots. But from the minute I downloaded the photos full screen and said "waaaaait a minute" I have been OUT of my mind trying to confirm the ID. And I've been really conscientious about making the call. I consulted many sources!

No streaks on the flanks. That very rosy-red cap, and the color carries all the way down. Darker wings. Shorter tail, proportionately, than my house finch photos.

I have made no color edits at all, just cropped the two photos. His flanks are not streaky like a male house finch. His color is not as orange as a house finch, and the cheeks and tail look right. As Maggie succinctly diagnosed, "He thicc." I really think that is a purple finch. The only reason I wouldn't think he's a purple finch is that I don't get lucky like this, on a random, unplanned bird walk.

Please understand, a purple finch is not rare or special or anything like that, it's just that I've never seen one. Or else I've seen a dozen, and simply never registered such a remarkable shade of raspberry plumage, or how unexpectedly musical the song was, and never noticed the distinct brown streaks that are not there.

I'm calling it. I am making the ID. That is a purple finch, and a lifer. He looks just like his picture.

Disagree? Sound off in the comments! Or go jump in a lake, maybe? I spent hours on this.

Things I Thought About:

  • That northern flicker is going to stay right behind that tallest limb, isn’t he. I vilify them. I revile and rebuke them.
This bird is an absolute dildo.
  • My phone says it might snow 14"-17" inches on Sunday. I have never seen fourteen inches of snow in my life. I bet I’ve never even seen eight. I spent 40 years in Georgia. I bought my first show shovel last year. I don’t think I’ll do very well in a days-long power outage, either. It is simply impossible for me to believe in this. Although, of course, it is no trouble at all for me to stay at home and not go anywhere for a week.
  • I ran out of the house straight from sleep this morning to take the niece to school by emergency request; hat, coat, bag, and away, and I did not really plan this long an outing in sockless crocs. I also just noticed I'm still wearing my bite splint. Looking good!
  • These birds look so good in the camera display! Very bright colors in this early light. I’m worried when I download them, I won’t remember which photos I set up manually, and which ones are the auto-settings. (Note: yep.) And of course I have no idea what I'm doing, really. Turn this knob and the screen says "prioritize aperture for low light" so just do that, I guess.
  • Someone has created a labyrinth on the volleyball pitch, which will last ten minutes into the first warm day of March, but I think I will walk it anyway, in the spirit of Namaste. Someone made it, after all.
It takes longer than you would think to get to the middle and then reverse. No skipping lines.
  • Bad choice, to walk a maze in a volleyball pit in sockless crocs. 

BOTD: the purple finch. I took many better photos today, but any photo of a lifer has to be your Bird of the Day. If he had been a plain house finch, the BOTD probably would have been the female cardinal, or an eastern bluebird, but I'm saving those photos in case it snows 14"-17" this weekend.

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