Haemorhous mexicanus
A House Finch song is a cheerful, run-on ramble, about three seconds of quick twittering notes that often finishes on a buzzy, down-slurred note. Males deliver it from rooftops, wires and treetops between late winter and summer. Around feeders and overhead, the call you hear constantly is a bright cheep, sometimes a rising two-part queet.
Every sound the House Finch makes
2 sounds to learn, each with a recording.
Warbling Song
High pitch · Phrase
A long, hurried warble of short twittering notes that rambles up and down for about three seconds. Many songs finish on a buzzy, down-slurred note (a rough veeer), which is the easiest part to remember. The tone is bright but a bit scratchy, slower and rougher than a Purple Finch's smoother warble. Not every singer is a red male, either: females sing a little higher, and their songs can be just as long and complex.
Mostly males, late winter through summer and peaking in spring, often from the highest perch around: a rooftop, wire or treetop.
Cheep Call
Mid pitch · Single note
A bright, slightly nasal cheep, sometimes a two-part queet that rises at the end. Flocks keep up a steady patter of these at feeders, birds give them as they fly over, and a flock bursting up off the ground gives a sharper version.
Year round, from both sexes, perched or in flight.
What to listen for
- A long, rambling warble, about three seconds, with no phrase repeated.
- A buzzy, slurred note at the very end of the song.
- Bright cheep calls from a flock at the feeder or passing overhead.
- Song from rooftops, wires and lamp posts in town, starting in late winter.
Birds that sound like the House Finch
By ear: Purple Finch songs are faster, richer and more liquid, and they rarely end with the House Finch's buzzy slur. Its call is a short, low tek or pick, not a cheep.
By ear: In western mountains, Cassin's Finch sings a lively, rollicking warble often laced with skilled imitations of other birds, and its calls are liquid two- or three-syllable notes. House Finch songs are slower and rougher, and more often end in a slurred note.
House Sparrow
By ear: House Sparrows repeat one flat, unmusical chirp (chireep, chireep) over and over. A House Finch's song is a real tune, and its call often rises at the end.
When and where you'll hear it
When
Most vocal from February to July, at dawn and during the day.
- Dawn
- Daytime
Where
Year round in towns, suburbs and farmland across nearly all of the lower 48, and in Hawaii. Native to the West and Southwest, it was released in the New York City area around 1940 and has since spread across the entire East.
- West and Southwest
- Native here, so you also hear it far from houses: in desert scrub, chaparral, dry grassland and open woods.
- East
- Descended from released cage birds, now one of the most common feeder birds and almost always near buildings.
- Cities
- Yards
- Desert
- Open country
Practice the House Finch in the app
Practice the House Finch’s warbling song until you can name it without looking. Wings & Whistles plays it in 3 interactive listening lessons, mixed with the birds you’ll hear around it.
Sidewalk SquadTier 2 · Around the Block
Finch Clinic: Warbles & Potato-ChipsTier 3 · Family Reunion
Finch Face-Off: Warble WarsTier 10 · Going Deeper
How to recognize the House Finch by sight
A small, brown-streaked finch with a conical bill. Adult males sport a rosy-red wash on the head and breast, with streaky brown back and flanks, whereas females are plain gray-brown with heavy streaks and no red. Males are often noted for their cheerful plumage and long, twittering song.
Similar-looking species (2)
- Purple Finch: Male Purple Finches are more raspberry-red overall (including back) with less streaking on the flanks, and females have bold facial markings; House Finches are browner with more streaking.
- House Sparrow: Male House Sparrows have gray heads and a black bib on the throat, and females have an obvious buffy eye stripe with unstreaked underparts.
House Finch sounds FAQ
When does the House Finch sing?
The House Finch is most vocal from February to July, mostly at dawn and during the day.