Florida House Finches

Identification

Males are brownish with a bright red breast, forehead, rump, and stripe over the eye. They also have narrow dark stripes on the flanks and belly. Females are sparrowlike , with a plain head, streaked underparts , and no eye stripe. House finches have a warbling song, frequently ending in harsh, nasal notes. Their chirp is similar to that of a house sparrow.

 

Range and Habitat

House finches are abundant residents throughout the western United States and Mexico. They are becoming common in the East and are spreading into the central United States. They are most numerous on the valley floors and in the foothills of California, wherever food and water are available. Though house finches are classified along with other finches as migratory nongame birds under federal law, authorities agree that they are relatively nonmigratory  In late summer they move into the higher mountains and have been observed at elevations as high as 9,800 feet (3,000 m). They are generally resident birds and most of those in valley districts spend their lives within a few miles of the place where they were hatched.

The house finch is most abundant in the warm valleys of California near cultivated lands. Human development has created extensive favorable habitat including hedgerows, field edges and crop fields.

 

Fun Facts

House finches are primarily seed eaters, and before the introduction of cultivated fruits, they probably lived largely on weed seeds. House finches have adapted well to the presence of humans.

 

Damage Identification

House finches peck and feed on practically all deciduous fruits, berries, grains, vegetable seed, and flower seed. They also detach the bracts of fruit buds and eat the buds; at blossom time they knock off flower petals and eat the embryonic fruits.

 

Damage Prevention and Control Methods

Exclusion
Cover crops with plastic netting.

Habitat Modification
Remove cover used for nesting and resting.

Frightening
Av-Alarms® and gas cannons have been somewhat effective.
Avitrol ®.

Repellents
Capsicum

Toxicants
None are registered or currently available for use.

Trapping
Use culvert traps or foot snares; for bait use only wild animal road kills and scents.

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above information was adapted from PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE with permission of the editors, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson (Cooperative Extension Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee).

Our local Florida offices offer House Finches services in the following cities:
Alachua, Alford, Altamonte Springs, Alva, Anna Maria, Apalachicola, Apollo Beach, Apopka, Archer, Atlantic Beach, Atlantis, Auburndale, Aventura, Azalea Park, Babson Park, Bahama Shores, Bal Harbour, Baldwin, Baldwin Park, Barberville, Bartlett Park, Bartow, Bascom, Bassville Park, Bay Harbor Islands, Bay Hill, Bay Lake, Bay Lake, Bayway Isles, Beachway Park, Belle Glade, Belle Island, Belle Isle, Belle Vista, Belleair, Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleview, Beverly Beach, Big Pine Key, Biscayne Park, Blam, Blam, Boca Grande, Boca Raton, Boggy Creek, Bokeelia, Bonita Springs, Boynton Beach, Bradenton, Bradenton Beach, Brandon, Brent, Briny Breezes, Bryant, Bryceville, Buenaventura Lakes, Bunnell, Callahan, Callaway, Campbellton, Canal Point, Candler, Cape Canaveral, Cape Coral, Captiva, Carrabelle, Caryville, Casselberry, Century, Chattahoochee, Chattahoochee, Cheval, Childs Park, Chipley, Chokoloskee, Cinco Bayou, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Clermont, Cloud Lake, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Coconut Creek, Colonial Town, Conway, Cooper City, Copeland, Coquina, Coral Gables, Coral Springs, Cottondale, Crawfordville, Crestview, Crooked Lake Park, Cutler Bay, Dade City, Dade City, Dania Beach, Davenport, Davie, Davis Islands, Dawn Cesar, Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Debary, Deerfield Beach, Deerfield Beach, Deland, Dell Rio, Delray Beach, Deltona, Destin, Doctor Phillips, Doctors Inlet, Doral, Dundee, Dunedin, Dunnellon, Eagle Crest, Eagle Lake, Eagle Nest, Earleton, East Park, Eatonville, Ebro, Edgewater, Edgewood, Egypt Lake, El Jobean, El Portal, Elfers, Elkton, Estero, Eustis, Everglades City, Fairfield, Fairview Shores, Fellsmere, Fernandina Beach, Flagler Beach, Florida Center, Florida City, Forest City, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Meade, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Fort Ogden, Fort Pierce, Frostproof, Fruitland Park, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Walton, Ft. Walton Beach, Gainesville, Geneva, Gibsonia, Gibsonton, Gibsonton, Glen Ridge, Glenwood, Golden Beach, Goldenrod, Golf, Gonzalez, Goodland, Graceville, Grand Ridge, Grant-valkaria, Greater Pinellas Point, Green Cove Springs, Greensboro, Greensboro, Greenville, Greenwood, Gretna, Gretna, Groveland, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Stream, Gulfport, Gulfport, Haines City, Hallandale Beach, Hastings, Havana, Havana, Haverhill, Hawthorne, Heathrow, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, High Springs, Highland Beach, Highland City, Hilliard, Hillsboro Beach, Hobe Sound, Holiday, Holly Hill, Hollywood, Holmes Beach, Homestead, Hypoluxo, Immokalee, Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Indian River Shores, Indian Rocks, Indian Shores, Indiantown, Inidan Rocks Beach, Islamorada, Island Grove, Islandia, Isle Of Palms, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Jay, Jensen Beach, Juno Beach, Jupiter, Jupiter Island, Kathleen, Kenneth City, Key Biscayne, Key Colony Beach, Key Largo, Key West, Keystone Heights, Kirkman North, Kissimmee, La Crosse, La Crosse, La Vista, Lacoochee, Lake Alfred, Lake Buena Vista, Lake Clarke Shores, Lake Eola Heights, Lake Geneva, Lake Harbor, Lake Helen, Lake Lorraine, Lake Mary, Lake Nona, Lake Park, Lake Wales, Lake Weldona, Lake Worth, Lakeland, Lakewood Estates, Lakewood Estates, Land O Lakes, Lantana, Largo, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderdale-by-the-sea, Lauderhill, Laurel Hill, Layton, Lazy Lake, Lee, Lee, Leesburg, Leessburg, Lehigh Acres, Lighthouse Point, Lockhart, Long Key, Longboat Key, Longwood, Loxahatchee, Loxahatchee Groves, Lutz, Lynn Haven, Madeira Beach, Madison, Madison, Maitland, Malabar, Malone, Manalapan, Mango, Mangonia Park, Marathon, Marathon Shores, Marco Island, Margate, Marianna, Marina Harbor, Marineland, Mary Esther, Mascotte, Maxamo, Mc Intosh, Meadow Woods, Medley, Medulla, Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Metro West, Mexico Beach, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, Miami Shores, Miami Springs, Micanopy, Mid Florida, Middleburg, Midway, Midway, Millenia, Milton, Minneola, Mirabella, Miramar, Monticello, Monticello, Mount Plymouth, Mulberry, Naples, Navarre, Neptune Beach, New Port Richey, New Smyrna Beach, Newberry, Niceville, Nocatee, North Bay Village, North Fort Myers, North Lauderdale, North Miami, North Miami Beach, North Palm Beach, North Port, North Redington Beach, Oak Hill, Oak Hill, Oak Ridge, Oakland, Oakland Park, Ocala, Ocean Breeze Park, Ocean City, Ocean Ridge, Ochopee, Ocoee, Odessa, Okahumpka, Oldsmar, Ona, Opa Locka, Orange City, Orange Park, Orchid, Orlando, Orlovista, Ormond Beach, Oviedo, Pace, Pace, Pahokee, Palm Bay, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Shores, Palm City, Palm Coast, Palm Harbor, Palm Shores, Palm Springs, Palmetto, Palmetto Bay, Palmetto Beach, Panama City, Panama City Beach, Paradise Island, Parker, Parkland, Pass A Grill Beach, Pembroke Park, Pembroke Pines, Penney Farms, Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key, Perry, Pierson, Pine Castle, Pine Hills, Pinecrest, Pineland, Pinellas Park, Plant City, Plantation, Polk City, Pompano Beach, Ponce Inlet, Port Orange, Port Richey, Port Saint Joe, Port Salerno, Port St Lucie, Punta Gorda, Quincy, Quincy, Ranches, Reddick, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Richmond Heights, Riverview, Riviera Beach, Rockledge, Roseland, Rosemont, Rotonda West, Royal Palm Beach, Safety Harbor, Saint Augustine, Saint Augustine Beach, Saint Cloud, Saint James City, Saint Leo, Saint Lucie, Saint Marks, Saint Pete Beach, San Antonio, Sanford, Sanibel, Sarasota, Satellite Beach, Sea Ranch Lakes, Sebastian, Seminole, Sewalls Point, Shalimar, Silver Springs, Sky Lake, Sneads, Sopchoppy, South Apopka, South Bay, South Daytona, South Miami, South Palm Beach, South Pasadena, Southchase, Southport, Southwest Ranches, Springfield, St Petersburg, St. Marks, Stuart, Sugarloaf Shores, Summerland Key, Sunny Isles Beach, Sunrise, Surfside, Sweetwater, Taft, Tallahassee, Tallahassee, Tallevast, Tamarac, Tampa, Tarpon Springs, Tavares, Tavernier, Temple Terrace, Tequesta, Tierra Verde, Timberleaf, Titusville, Titusville, Town And Country, Treasure Island, Trinity, Umatilla, Union Park, University Park, Valparaiso, Valrico, Valrico, Vanderbilt Beach, Venice, Ventura, Vernon, Vero Beach, Virginia Gardens, Vista Park, Wabasso, Wacissa, Wahneta, Waldo, Warrington, Wauchula, Wausau, Waverly, Weirsdale, Wekiva Springs, Wellington, Wesley Chapel, West Chase, West Melbourne, West Miami, West Palm Beach, West Park, Weston, Wewahitchka, Williamsburg, Wilton Manors, Windermere, Winston, Winter Beach, Winter Garden, Winter Garden, Winter Haven, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Wright, Wright, Yalaha, Yulee, Zellwood, Zephyrhills