Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus), Oxbow Campground near Cibola NWR, La Paz County

This Purple Finch was found and photographed by Judy Crawford on 11 November 2014 and again on 12 November

Purple Finch is a casual transient and winter visitor with only five records in the past ten years, since being reinstated on the review list. This is a flight year for Purple Finch in the California deserts.

This finch is readily told from a House Finch by the strong face pattern. The best characters to separate this bird from a female Cassin's Finch are the overall greenish color, rounded culmen, short primary projection and blurry breast streaking.  Also note the pale arc under the eye and lack of an eyering.

11 November 2014, photo by Judy Crawford

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