Purple Finch
(Adopted 1957)

The Purple Finch is a frequent visitor to feeding trays, where it gorges on sunflower seeds. The male looks like a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice. The female suggest a heavily striped sparrow with a dark ear patch and a heavy jaw stripe. The song is a fast lively warble, heard at its best on nesting territory among small evergreens in Canada, the northeastern U.S., and the Pacific states. The note, a metallic tick, is quite unlike any note of the House Finch. Some Purple Finches may winter where they nest; others may wander as far south as the Gulf of Mexico.