{"id":117082,"date":"2023-10-16T04:03:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T10:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=117082"},"modified":"2023-10-16T04:05:19","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T10:05:19","slug":"male-house-finch-color-comparisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/16\/male-house-finch-color-comparisons\/","title":{"rendered":"Male House Finch Color Comparisons"},"content":{"rendered":"

I photographed this male House Finch at Farmington Bay WMA 3 days ago. I noticed that he seemed dull compared to male House Finches I saw in Arkansas this year.<\/p>\n

\"DullDull male House Finch in Utah \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 640, +1.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, during my time in Utah, I’ve observed numerous male House Finches, most with dull red, or the less common orange, or yellow feathers on their faces, heads, necks, and upper breasts.<\/p>\n

Male House Finches acquire their colored feathers from pigments in the plant foods they consume during molting. These pigments, known as carotenoids, contribute to the distinctive hues of their red, orange, and yellow plumage. These vibrant colors are the result of various combinations of 13 different carotenoids.<\/p>\n

The more carotenoids a male House Finch eats, the redder its feathers will be, and the redder the feathers, the more likely they are to attract a female.<\/p>\n

\"VividVivid male House Finch in Arkansas \u2013 Canon R7, f11, 1\/1250, ISO 12,800, Canon RF 800mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As I photographed the male House Finch at Farmington Bay, I couldn’t help but compare him to the more vibrant male House Finches I saw and photographed in Arkansas. Most of the males I saw in my friend Steve Creek<\/span><\/a>‘s wonderful Arkansas yard were as brightly colored as the male in the photo above, with some displaying even more vividly colored red feathers.<\/p>\n

The male House Finches I had in my garden in Virginia were just as red as those I photographed in Steve’s yard.<\/p>\n

This made me wonder what the male Arkansas House Finches are eating that the male Utah House Finches don’t have access to when foraging for food.<\/p>\n

\"BrightBright male House Finch in northern Utah \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/800, ISO 640,+1.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
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I’m not suggesting that all<\/em> male House Finches in northern Utah are less vibrant than those in other geographical regions. As shown in the photo above, some of the males here are brightly colored.<\/p>\n

However, my observations of them, however anecdotal they are, do seem to indicate that male House Finches<\/span><\/a> in Utah just aren’t as vibrantly red as those I found in Arkansas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

How is that for my early Monday morning thoughts about these birds?<\/p>\n

Let me know how brightly colored the House Finches are in your neck of the woods in the comments!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my House Finch photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I photographed this male House Finch at Farmington Bay WMA 3 days ago. I noticed that he seemed dull compared to male House Finches I saw in Arkansas this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13950,163,27,1022,697,2696,709,13951,26],"tags":[4004,970,14474,6577,6969,6962,14475,4620,3504,3495,4136,3747,1830,14476,2698,2697,4062,4094,10698,4104,1831,4018,2315,8018,12275,4095],"class_list":["post-117082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-bird-identification","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-house-finches","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-sebastian-county","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-autumn-snow","tag-branches","tag-crabapple","tag-crabapples","tag-dull","tag-fall","tag-finch","tag-finches","tag-foraging","tag-grass","tag-greasewood","tag-greasewoods","tag-haemorhous-mexicanus","tag-house-finch","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-park","tag-perched","tag-sarcobatus-vermiculatus","tag-sky","tag-summer-3","tag-urban","tag-vivid","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-adult-male-utah-mia-mcpherson-4025.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-usq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":116615,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/02\/female-house-finch-in-sunflowers-gone-to-seed\/","url_meta":{"origin":117082,"position":0},"title":"Female House Finch In Sunflowers Gone To Seed","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I was tickled to photograph this female House Finch last week in sunflowers that had gone to seed. I liked the finch, the autumn colors, and the morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult female House Finch in sunflowers gone to seed, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-female-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-female-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/house-finch-female-sunflowers-mia-mcpherson-1442.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2024","format":false,"excerpt":"While I visited my friend Steve Creek in Arkansas, he had a House Finch with an odd color variation coming to his feeders, which I photographed from his deck.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"House Finch adult with plumage color variation, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/house-finch-arkansas-odd-coloration-mia-mcpherson-7475.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/house-finch-arkansas-odd-coloration-mia-mcpherson-7475.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/house-finch-female-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2998.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/house-finch-female-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2998.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/house-finch-female-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2998.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/house-finch-female-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2998.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97200,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/10\/orange-variant-male-house-finch-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":117082,"position":4},"title":"Orange Variant Male House Finch Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I had the opportunity to take a nice long series of an orange variant male House Finch while it ate the seeds of a greasewood.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orange variant male House Finch, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/house-finch-male-orange-variant-mia-mcpherson-2791.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/house-finch-male-orange-variant-mia-mcpherson-2791.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/house-finch-male-orange-variant-mia-mcpherson-2791.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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