How to Identify a Cassin’s Finch

What Does a Cassin’s Finch Look Like?

Kristin Terwilliger

Male Cassin’s finches are hardly streaked, lending them a vibrant plumage. “To me, the Cassin’s finch always seems brighter,” says Dusty Downey, conservation ranching manager at the Audubon Rockies. The rich red crown of a male Cassin’s makes a striking contrast to its pale body.

Cassin’s Finch vs House Finch

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One could easily confuse the Cassin’s finch with the closely related purple finch or even the more familiar house finch. For Dusty, the Cassin’s finch is a species that represents the edge of the sagebrush and the tall evergreen forests of the West.

Purple finches have more extensive red hues, especially on their backs and the bodies. In comparison, male house finches are heavily streaked.

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Female Cassin’s finches show bold streaks but muddled cheek patches. Purple finches are similarly streaked, but their facial patterns have more contrast. Female house finches have dingier body stripes.

For both sexes, the shapes of their heads can help separate these confusing identifications. Cassin’s finches often show peaked crowns, while other similar species have more rounded features. Additionally, Cassin’s have longer wingtips and shorter tails than house finches, and their bills are longer and more acutely pointed than those of either purple or house finches.

Cassin’s Finch Song

Bird sounds courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology 

Second-year male Cassin’s finches retain brown plumage and look similar to females. They can form bachelor flocks during the breeding season, although they do sing courtship songs. These excellent mimics often imitate the calls of other species.

Learn how to identify and attract a redpoll.

Range and Habitat

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Cassin’s finches are birds of the West. The Black Hills of western South Dakota mark the extreme eastern extent of their breeding range, which stretches to the mountains of central British Columbia and northern Mexico. “At times, we see them wintering on our ranch in northeastern Wyoming,” Dusty says.

Across much of their range, Cassin’s finches can be found year-round. They do show an altitudinal migration, wintering at lower elevations. Most migrate out of Canada for winter, and some push deeper south into Mexico during the nonbreeding season. Cassin’s finches join mixed siskin, crossbill and grosbeak flocks in winter.

What Do Cassin’s Finches Eat?

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During spring, Cassin’s are known to feast heavily on aspen buds, but as the summer nesting season begins, the species is strongly tied to conifer trees.

For folks living within its range, this thick-billed species may visit backyard feeders for a quick snack. “As with other finches, black oil sunflower seed is a preferred offering,” Dusty says.

Cassin’s finches eat sunflower seeds both with and without the shells. Occasionally, they stop at a tube of thistle seed.

While mostly seed eaters, they consume some insect larvae in summer. They also visit mineral salt deposits regularly to satiate their salty cravings.

Cassin’s Finch Name

The Cassin’s finch was named by Spencer Baird, after John Cassin, a leading bird expert at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. The species was first collected in the 1850s during a Pacific Railroad Survey expedition to the Southwest.

Along with purple and house finches, Cassin’s finches fall under the genus Haemorhous, with haemo being a reference to the blood red coloration of the group and orrhos meaning “rump.”

Next, meet the three types of goldfinches in the United States.

About the Expert

Dusty Downey lives on his family’s working cattle ranch and is the conservation ranching manager with Audubon Rockies. Dustin has a bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of Wyoming.