Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus), Gillespie Wash, Graham County

These Purple Finches were two of five found and photographed by Jeff Coker on 10 January 2016

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 17 prior pending reports, 12 since November 2015. If accepted by the ABC, this may furnish the first record for Graham County.

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 and blurry breast streaking. The culmen is not visible in this photo, but also note the darker area around the eye with no visible eye-ring.

10 January 2016, photo by Jeff Coker

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