House Finch - HD Mini-Documentary

[TheMarijuana3000]

I found a bird when I went to my cottage about 6 months ago with a broken wing or something wrong with it's wing so I kept it and got it healthy again. It still is basically not capable of flying, it struggles greatly and can only fly very short distances. By short I mean like 3 feet max. It's wing either healed crooked or was just never broken to begin with. Anyway, it looks a lot like a female house finch but doesn't sound like that, it just makes chirps like tweet tweet tweet.I'm in Michigan.

[TheMarijuana3000]

@TheMarijuana3000 I think it's wing may have just been deformed from birth and maybe it's just still too young to look like a full adult. I looked at every picture of male and female birds of Michigan and the only two it looked like is the female House Finch, and maybe a Pine Siskin. The beak looks just not sharp enough to be a Pine Siskin though. I wish I knew what it was.I have decided to just keep it since it seems really happy and would just die if I let it go anyway since it can't fly.

[Legoboy127cp]

PLEASE REPLY!!! What bird is that on 00:25 at the left end? I see them during winter.

[TheMarijuana3000]

@Legoboy127cp That is a House Sparrow if I'm not mistaken.

[AgileHProductions]

@Legoboy127cp I think it is a house sparrow.

[kuhlekatze]

They are so cute. I have a couple of pairs who come to the feeders every so often.

[nddlj]

I've literally been stocking birds in my area trying to find THIS bird. It's song is SO distinctive and for YEARS, I've been wanting to know WHAT bird makes this sound. I finally found it but I never knew it's name!

I love their song. I always hear it and I never get tired of it.

[FoulOwl]

Cool.I have these at my feeder.I thought they were purple finches at first,but the spots on the belly gave it away.

[Marmalade000000]

Did you see that female just push the male away at 0:23??

[bgfcjoe]

mine was free. caught it myself. took him out of the birds nest when he was two weeks old. bred it with my king midas canary. he sings really nice. the bred is midas finch. google it

[genericusername52]

I love the way they sing.

[AgileHProductions]

@genericusername52 They are like the Celine Dions of the bird world!

[AgileHProductions]

@genericusername52 They are like the Celine Dions of the bird world!

[T0St3d]

i have seen them eat apples.

[AgileHProductions]

@T0St3d Whole apples?  That would be impressive.

[rvpytb]

@AgileHProductions Yes, They eat apples. I have rescued a blind one and he loves good apples from the farmers' market but not so much the ones from the store :)

[ClimateSightful]

I had a family of house finches at my feeder this spring - mother, father, and two chicks. Very cute. We get more purple finches, though

[Meethyee]

What a wonderful feeder, where did you get it?

[AgileHProductions]

@Meethyee Not sure. My parents got it for me for Christmas. It's a squirrel-free feeder and it works great.

[jay733]

Is there any way in keeping them away from a Cardinal feeder?

[guahould]

@jay733 use a slingshot with little chunks of carrots or peas as ammo and just scare the little pests away ...

[0267m]

Thank you, very informative video. We have two here that come around and they do sing quite beautiful.

[4Topwood]

Thanks for the information. I had no idea the house finch was a domestic bird gone wild. I love watching them at the feeder. They're so cheerful and their song is so pretty.

[RjeanBagierra]

Are House Finches monogamous? One House Finch has decided to make a nest right outside my window and i've noticed that her mate is with her all day, he doesn't seem to be helping her make the nest but he's always right there with her or close by as if he's watching out for her

[HelloNewYorkCity]

canaries are basically finches with banana smeared on them

[4TIMESAYEAR]

I always thought they resembled a parakeet - very informative video:)

[mrfourtysevenman]

i hand tamed one of those in my back yard.

that was awesome. i wanted it to fly away but it came back.

[bballkeh10]

hello I love finches if you want to see my bird video search Cardinal Feeding Time

[javakogan]

Don't forget to mention the avipox epidemic (sometimes referred to as a form of conjunctivitis) in the mid to late 1990's which had caused something of a population crash on the East Coast. I tracked it in, and it killed several of my canaries...

[javakogan]

Um, when you mentioned their being native to the southeastern United States, I think you meant southwestern United States. The ones in the southeastern U.S. are descendents of the released "Hollywood Finches".

[tomtalker2000]

What a wonderful video, i have both House & Purple finches in my backyard. And i've been birding now, for over 15+yrs, so i've got quite the avian experience built up. Its true however, in what the other poster commented on, House Sparrows, are driving the House Finch numbers down unfortunatley. They do compete for the same space, in terms of breeding conditions etc....However House Sparrows believe it or not, are NOT "true sparrows" at all. There actually finches, referred as Weaver Finches.

[AgileHProductions]

Thanks for the added info.  I never heard that about the House Sparrow. That would have been a good thing to include in my house sparrow video.

[blacklabradorlover1]

@AgileHProductions

Actually, it's not just house finches that the House sparrow is driving down, it is also bluebirds, chickadees, swallows, titmice, etc. that the house sparrow viciously kills for nesting space. They are a non-native, invasive species. Please do not continue feeding them! They are so aggressive and murderous. I find that house finches really love to eat plain sunflower seeds, which may even be cheaper than commercial mixes, which the sparrows love.

[PhillyPhunk]

You sir are correct the house sparrows are a Finch. Another neat factoid about the House finch ... the house finches that escaped and colonized the east are now less than 60 miles from the native southwest house finches. I have alot of house finches and Goldfinches. In the past week the goldfinch population has shot up with the addition of 16 - 18 juveniles. Its amazing. House finches wont come out for just nyger. They like the finch mixes in the feeder style seen in the video.

[conqueso62]

@tomtalker2000 Thanks for the information. I saw a house sparrow try to peck and chase after a male house finch eating at my feeder. I hope he is ok, I'll have to wait until tomorrow and see if he comes back to feed. 

[Ido013]

I heard that the House Sparrow is causing the House Finch a hard time making them diminish in number since they live under the same conditions.