Spot House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)

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House Finches are small-bodied finches with fairly large beaks and somewhat long, flat heads. The wings are short, making the tail seem long by comparison. Adult males are rosy red around the face and upper breast, with streaky brown back, belly and tail. In flight, the red rump is conspicuous. Adult females aren’t red; they are plain grayish-brown with thick, blurry streaks and an indistinctly marked face. Diet and behavioral habits: Common in Balboa Park year-round, House Finches are gregarious birds that collect at feeders or perch high in nearby trees. When they’re not at feeders, they feed on the ground, on weed stalks, or in trees. Almost all of their diet is vegetable matter, mostly weed seeds, and buds and flower parts in spring, berries and small fruits in late summer and fall. They will also eats a few insects, mostly small ones such as aphids. Nesting habits: House Finches use a wide variety of sites for their nest, especially in conifers, palms, ivy on buildings, cactus, holes in man-made structures, averaging about 12-15' above the ground. They use sites such as hanging planters, and old nests of other birds. The nest (built mostly by the female) is open an cup of grass, weeds, fine twigs, leaves, rootlets, sometimes with feathers, string, or other debris added.

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