Purple Finch - Haemorhous purpureus

Purple Finch has a partial preformative molt and limited prealternate molts that are restricted to body feathers and difficult to detect. Although ""purple"" DCB/DCU (AHY/ASY) Purple Finches are easy to recognize as males, determining age and sex of ""brown"" individuals is more challenging, with extent of skull development the most reliable indicator of age until early-mid November. Sex of most FCU (SY) birds can only be determined by brood patch or cloacal protuberance.

Quick tips

• Look at the overall appearance - only DCB/DCU (AHY/ASY) males have extensive reddish-purple plumage, while some FCF/FCU (HY/SY) males may have a hint of red, but most of them and all females are entirely brown and whitish.
• Look at the outer rectrices - they are narrow and relatively pointed at the tip on FCF/FCU (HY/SY) birds, and tend to be more broad and relatively rounded on DCB/DCU (AHY/ASY) birds, but shape is often intermediate and unhelpful.
• Examine the greater coverts - on some FCF/FCU (HY/SY) birds there is a subtle difference between darker replaced inner greater coverts and slightly paler primary coverts and often also the outer greater coverts; DCB/DCU (AHY/ASY) birds lack a molt limit, but beware that at all ages the greater coverts appear at least slightly darker than the rest of the wing.

Species account prepared by McGill Bird Observatory (2016). Last updated by Marcel Gahbauer (Mar 2022)