Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus), Gibson Neighborhood Park, Ajo, Pima County

This Purple Finch was found by Joe Veverka on 25 October and photographed by Chris McCreedy on 01 November 2015

Purple Finch is a casual transient and winter visitor with only five records since 2003, when it was reinstated on the review list. This year and last year were flight years for Purple Finch in the California deserts and there are six prior pending reports.

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. The olive tones to the upperparts including wing bars, and the long blurry flank streaking identify this as the western subspecies californicus.

01 November 2015, photo by Chris McCreedy

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