Male House Finch
House Finches are pretty little birds (the males, anyway) that are common throughout much of the U.S. That wasn't always the case, however. According to my sources (Wikipedia and The Birds of North America Online), originally House Finches only lived in Mexico and the southwestern U.S. Starting in the 1940s, the birds were sold illegally in New York City and a small number were released. Since then, they have become permanent residents of the eastern U.S.
We often see House Finches in our backyard, since they're frequent visitors to bird feeders. House Finches are mostly brown in color, but males usually have reddish heads, necks, and shoulders. However, male coloration changes by season, and males can vary in color from pale yellow to bright red. Male coloration comes from carotenoid pigments in their food (berries and fruits)! Pretty cool, I had no idea. As far as I know, I've only ever seen reddish colored males.
Female House Finch
Female House Finch
Male House Finch
Male House Finch
Also, for the science nerds out there, evidently House Finches have had an issue with bacterial infections in recent years, which caused their numbers in the eastern U.S. to plummet in the 1990s. One bacterium in particular, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, is evolving very rapidly and supposedly jumped from turkeys (here's an article about it). Gobble gobble.
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