Purple Finch

A Purple finch appeared at our feeder on 23 February 2021. A bird in this plumage may either sex, since males take two years to molt into their burgundy plumage. Somewhat oddly, this bird was eating suet—Purple finches usually eat seeds. This individual appeared to be sick, showing signs of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, a bacterial eye infection found in House Finches and other birds. The disease is not invariably fatal and affects other species to varying degrees. If you look closely, you can see this bird’s head and rump feathers are stained yellowish, typical of the western race that occurs from British Columbia to Baja California. (The eastern race breeds across Canada and into the northern and northeastern United States.)