HOUSE FINCH

Haemorhous mexicanus frontalis

Status: Common regular resident statewide.

Documentation: Specimen: HMM 2425, 29 Jan 1916 Haigler, Dundy Co.

Taxonomy: This species, along with Purple Finch and Cassin’s Finch, were recently assigned (Chesser et al 2012) to their own genus (Haemorhous, from Carpodacus) based on a study by Zuccon et al (2012).

Of about 11 subspecies generally recognized (Gill et al 2022, Badyaev et al 2020): only two occur north of Mexico frontalis (including clementis and solitudinus) resident in the western United States from the Pacific Coast, including on the Channel Islands, east to the western Great Plains and south to northwest Mexico, including islands off northwest Baja California, and potosinus, resident in the northern Mexican Plateau from central Chihuahua and southwest Texas south to Zacatecas, southwest Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí.

Prior to the appearance in Omaha, Douglas Co in the late 1980s and early 1990s of westward-spreading House Finches derived from a release in Long Island, New York in 1939 (Elliot and Arbib 1953, Cant 1962, Mundinger 1975), House Finch was restricted to western and central Nebraska; as expected, these were subspecies frontalis (AOU 1957, Rapp et al 1958). The birds released in New York in 1939 were trapped in Santa Barbara, California (Elliot and Arbib 1953, Cant 1962, Mundinger 1975), and thus also of subspecies frontalis. Genetic diversity is reduced however in eastern US House Finches, due to a founder effect (Badyaev et al (2020).

House Finches with yellow in place of red are occasionally reported in Nebraska. There is apparently little correlation between proportion of red (in particular astaxanthin and adonirubin) and yellow (zeaxanthin) carotenoid pigments between populations and ages (Inouye et al 2001, Badyaev et al 2020). An intriguing comment was made regarding a possible connection between a “huge” apple crop and a “huge” number of orange variant House Finches in Scotts Bluff Co 4 Dec 2014 (Ann Duey, personal communication).

A House Finch with white cheeks was in a Scotts Bluff Co yard 3 Mar 2023.

Resident: As of 1900, House Finch was unrecorded in Nebraska (Bruner et al 1904) although it must have appeared soon after, presumably derived from House Finch populations in the western US. “A dozen Crimson-fronted Finches” were seen in Bull Canyon, Banner Co, 2-6 Aug 1911 by Frank Shoemaker and Robert Wolcott; apparently no specimen was collected (Wayne Mollhoff, personal communication). Subsequently, one was collected in Haigler, Dundy Co 29 Jan 1916 (specimen cited above), and another in Bushnell, Kimball Co 2 Jun 1919 (Mickel and Dawson 1920, specimen UNSM ZM7121; Bray et al 1986). It apparently became established in Scottsbluff, Scotts Bluff Co well before 1958 (Olson 1956, Swenk 1926, Ducey 1988, Rapp et al 1958); Mollhoff (2022) cited a pair of adults with young found by Mrs. J. W. Hall in Scotts Bluff Co 18 Jul 1926. AOU (1957) stated that it occurred in Kimball Co and Haigler in western Nebraska, and Rapp et al (1958) described it as “a common permanent resident in the Panhandle Region, especially in the vicinity of Scottsbluff. Has nested in Lincoln Co”. An isolated population was established in North Platte, Lincoln Co in the 1950s (Gates 1955).

Following these early records in the west, House Finch expanded its range eastward over the next 40 years or so, apparently accomplished by dispersal in fall of birds which visit feeders in towns and cities with “dense planted evergreens in residential areas … and feeding stations” and then breed the next summer, or within very few years thereafter (Rosche 1994). First records at most locations are indeed in fall or winter, and in some cases predate the establishment of breeding populations by several years.

Eastward spread of the species has been primarily in the North Platte River Valley.  House Finches reached Oshkosh, Garden Co and Ogallala, Keith Co in 1977 (Rosche 1994, Brown et al 1996) and the Kingsley Dam area, Keith Co in 1985 (Rosche 1994), although there was an earlier report for Keith Co 20 Mar 1964. A population had been established in Kearney, Buffalo Co for many years prior to 1980, although no specific information regarding its origin has been published. After first records in Hall Co 4-15 Dec 1973 (Cortelyou 1974) and 1983; breeding began there in 1983 (Coons 1983, Bennett 1984). The first report for Adams Co was 28 Dec 1968, and breeding began there about 1984. Reports from neighboring Kearney and Phelps Cos are recent, despite the presence of the long-established colony in Kearney, Buffalo Co, although individuals were reported at a Minden, Kearney Co feeder in late summer 1983-85 (Turner 1983, 1985, 1986).

In the southwest, summering birds were reported in Chase and Perkins Cos by 1982, and by 1990 the southern Panhandle and southwest were occupied, east to Kearney Co, including Republican River Valley counties (Mollhoff 2001). Establishment in Pine Ridge towns occurred in the late 1970s-early 1980s; nesting was first detected in Dawes County in 1973 and birds have been seen every year since at feeders; the first summer record was in Chadron, Dawes Co in 1982 (Williams 1982) and it had become common there two years later (Williams 1984). Colonization of the Sandhills began later than in the Pine Ridge, as might be expected; nesting birds were noted at Hyannis, Grant Co in 1993 (Rosche 1994) and in Gordon, Sheridan Co in 2003.

Farther east, reports prior to the late 1980s were probably western birds spreading east. As early as the early 1960s, Johnsgard (2006) reported a notable increase of House Finch numbers reported on Lincoln CBCs 1947-1965. The first record for Douglas Co was 12 Dec 1977 (Cortelyou 1978); for Lancaster Co first record was in early Sep 1980 (Cortelyou 1981a, 1981b). Breeding first occurred in Sarpy and Lancaster Cos in 1988 (Green 1988, Bennett 1989, Cortelyou 1990). Nesting may have occurred in Douglas Co in 1987, when individuals appeared at a feeder in Omaha 26-30 Jun (Cortelyou 1987). By 1990, House Finch had rapidly established itself throughout the Missouri River Valley in Nebraska, including Knox Co, a “new locality” in 1989 (Grzybowski 1989).

It is likely all records to this point to around 1990 were of western House Finches; summering birds were first recorded in Iowa in 1982, with first nesting in 1986 (Kent and Dinsmore 1996); the “invasion of Iowa” was said to be complete by 1992 (Dinsmore 1992). The first breeding in northwest Missouri was in 1988 at both St. Joseph and Maryville (Robbins and Easterla 1992).

The timing and point of contact of eastern and western birds is unclear; perhaps the best evidence is provided by the comparison of the two Breeding Bird Atlases for 1989-1994 and 2006-2011 (Mollhoff 2001, 2016). The distribution by 1994 was essentially restricted to the area south of the North Platte and Platte River Valleys east only to Webster, Adams, and Hall Cos, and with a few reports in the southwest Loup drainage. The east and north were essentially unoccupied. By 2014, however, the entire southeastern two-thirds of the state was occupied, as well as most of the Panhandle, with only the western Sandhills lacking reports. This difference provides support for the idea that eastern and western birds made contact in the mid- or late 1990s.

BBS trend analysis reflects the rapid expansion of House Finches in the state, showing the species increased annually statewide by 9.88% (95 C.I.; 4.67, 14.46) during the period 1966-2015 (Sauer et al 2017) and was still increasing 1966-2019 (Sauer et al 2020) by 8.8% annually (95 C.I.; 4.73, 13.12).

• Breeding phenology:
• Copulation: 24 Mar
  Nest building: 31 Mar-11 Jun
  Eggs: 14 Mar- 7 Jul (Mollhoff 2022)
  Nestlings: 7 May- 30 Jun
  Fledglings: 7 May- 8 Jul

A nest in Ashland 27 Apr 2002 had two eggs as well as a House Sparrow egg and two Brown-headed Cowbird eggs (Molhoff 2004). At Fontenelle Forest, Sarpy Co, a female was incubating in a Barn Swallow nest 1 May 2015; the arriving Barn Swallows were “not happy” (Rick Schmid, personal communication). One with a brood patch was banded at Wildcat Hills NC, Scotts Bluff Co 1 Sep 2009.

House Finches form small flocks in Aug-Sep and often disappear from their summer locales; these flocks may winter some distance away; this is the method by which the species has expanded its range. An indication of flocking and migration was the banding of over 800 House Finches in Bellevue, Sarpy Co during Aug 2000; the birds had moved on by mid-Sep and none were recaptured subsequently (Ruth Green, personal communication). Birds banded in the Lake Ogallala area have been recovered in Kansas and South Dakota (Brown and Brown 2001).

• • High counts: (non-CBC) 600 in Thomas Co 28 Sep 2001, 135 at Bushnell, Kimball Co 12 Dec 2020, 120 at Wildcat Hills NC, Scotts Bluff Co 26 Oct 2020, and 120 there 15 Feb 2023.

CBC data show highest counts in cities where the species has been long established. Highest single CBC count is 348 at Scottsbluff 17 Dec 2005; 263 were at Lincoln 18 Dec 2010. A good CBC tally for the 1980s was the 134 in North Platte, Lincoln Co in 1983-84. Numbers banded in the Bellevue area are lowest Dec-Feb (Ruth Green, personal communication).

Images

Abbreviations

BBS: Breeding Bird Survey
CBC: Christmas Bird Count
HMM: Hastings Municipal Museum
NC: Nature Center
UNSM: University of Nebraska State Museum

Literature Cited

American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU]. 1957. The AOU Check-list of North American birds, 5th ed. Port City Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Badyaev, A.V., V. Belloni, and G.E. Hill. 2020. House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.46

Bennett, E.V. 1984. 1983 Nebraska nesting survey. NBR 52: 47-50.

Bennett, E.V. 1989. 1988 Nebraska nesting report. NBR 57: 34-41.

Bray, T.E., B.K. Padelford, and W.R. Silcock. 1986. The birds of Nebraska: A critically evaluated list. Published by the authors, Bellevue, Nebraska, USA.

Brown, C.R., and M.B. Brown. 2001. Birds of the Cedar Point Biological Station. Occasional Papers of the Cedar Point Biological Station, No. 1.

Brown, C.R., M.B. Brown, P.A. Johnsgard, J. Kren, and W.C. Scharf. 1996. Birds of the Cedar Point Biological Station area, Keith and Garden Counties, Nebraska: Seasonal occurrence and breeding data. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 23: 91-108.

Bruner, L., R.H. Wolcott, and M.H. Swenk. 1904. A preliminary review of the birds of Nebraska, with synopses. Klopp and Bartlett, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

Cant, G. 1962. The House Finch in New York state. Kingbird 12: 68-72

Chesser, R.T., R.C. Banks, F.K. Barker, C. Cicero, J.L. Dunn, A.W. Kratter, I.J. Lovette, P.C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., J.D. Rising, D.F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2012. Fifty-third Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 129: 573-588.

Coons, V. 1983. House Finch nest at Grand Island. NBR 51: 96.

Cortelyou, R.G. 1974. 1973 (Sixteenth) Fall Occurrence Report. NBR 42: 22-41.

Cortelyou, R.G. 1978. 1977 (Twentieth) Fall Occurrence Report. NBR 46: 23-35.

Cortelyou, R.G. 1981a. 1980 Christmas Count. NBR 49: 2-7.

Cortelyou, R.G. 1981b. 1980 (Twenty-third) Fall Occurrence Report. NBR 49: 14-30.

Cortelyou, R.G. 1987. 1987 (Sixty-second) Spring Occurrence Report. NBR 55: 50-67.

Cortelyou, R.G. 1990. 1989 Christmas Count. NBR 58: 3-12.

Dinsmore, J.J. 1992. Field Reports- Summer 1992. Iowa Bird Life 62: 104-112.

Ducey, J.E. 1988. Nebraska birds, breeding status and distribution. Simmons-Boardman Books, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

Elliot, J.J., and Arbib, R.S., Jr. 1953. Origin and status of the House Finch in the eastern United States. Auk 70: 31-37.

Gates, D. 1955. Common House Finch nesting in Lincoln County. NBR 23: 58.

Gill, F., D. Donsker, and P. Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2.  http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.

Green, R.C. 1988. House Finches nesting in Sarpy County. NBR 56: 82.

Grzybowski, J.A. 1989. Southern Great Plains Region. American Birds 43: 499-501.

Inouye, C.Y., G.E. Hill, R. Montgomerie, and R.D. Stradi. 2001. Carotenoid pigments in male house finch plumage in relation to age, subspecies, and ornamental coloration. Auk 118: 900– 915.

Johnsgard, P.A. 2006. Recent changes in winter bird numbers at Lincoln, Nebraska. NBR 74: 16-22.

Kent, T.H., and J.J. Dinsmore. 1996. Birds in Iowa. Publshed by the authors, Iowa City and Ames, Iowa, USA.

Mickel, C.E., and R.W. Dawson. 1920. Some interesting records of Nebraska birds for the year 1919. Wilson Bulletin 32: 73-79.

Mollhoff, W.J. 2001. The Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas 1984-1989. Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Occasional Papers No. 7. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

Mollhoff, W.J. 2004. The 2002 Nebraska Nesting Report. NBR 72: 153-158.

Mollhoff, W.J. 2016. The Second Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas. Bull. Univ. Nebraska State Museum Vol 29. University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

Mollhoff, W.J. 2022. Nest records of Nebraska birds. Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Occasional Paper Number 9.

Mundinger, P.C. 1975. Song dialects and colonization in the House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, on the east coast. Condor 77: 407-422.

Olson, M. 1956. Reports of nests, nestlings, and fledglings. NBR 24: 14.

Rapp, W.F. Jr., J.L.C. Rapp, H.E. Baumgarten, and R.A. Moser. 1958. Revised checklist of Nebraska birds. Occasional Papers 5, Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, Crete, Nebraska, USA.

Robbins, M.B., and D.A. Easterla. 1992. Birds of Missouri, their distribution and abundance. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri, USA.

Rosche, R.C. 1994. Birds of the Lake McConaughy area and the North Platte River valley, Nebraska. Published by the author, Chadron, Nebraska, USA.

Sauer, J.R., D.K. Niven, J.E. Hines, D.J. Ziolkowski, Jr, K.L. Pardieck, J.E. Fallon, and W.A. Link. 2017. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 – 2015 (Nebraska). Version 2.07. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, USA.

Sauer, J.R., W.A. Link, and J.E. Hines. 2020. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Analysis Results 1966 – 2019: U.S. Geological Survey data release. https://doi.org/10.5066/P96A7675.

Swenk, M.H. 1926. Letters of Information 18: 2.

Turner, H. 1983. Minden Notes. NBR 51: 91-92.

Turner, H. 1985. Minden Notes. NBR 53: 40-41.

Turner, H. 1986. Minden Notes. NBR 54: 19-20.

Williams, F. 1982. Southern Great Plains Region. American Birds 36: 992-995.

Williams, F. 1984. Southern Great Plains Region. American Birds 38: 1035-1037.

Zuccon, D., R. Prys-Jones, P.C. Rasmussen, and P.G.P. Ericson. The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62: 581–596.

Recommended Citation

Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2024. House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus). In Birds of Nebraska — Online. www.BirdsofNebraska.org

Birds of Nebraska – Online

Updated 23 Aug 2024