Carpodacus purpureus

(Purple Finch)

Conservation Status

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Population Analysis

For the 56,576 species in the Class Aves (Birds), we average 371.87 observations each in our database; for the Purple Finch, we have 178,719 observations. Compared to other species in this Class, this species is extremely common.
A two-sample t-test can be used to determine whether the trend in observations of the Purple Finch is the same as the trend in observations of Aves. Is this species just as common, as a proportion of all observations, as it once was? The answer is no, changes in observation rate of this species significantly differ from changes in observation rate of its Class. (t=7.035, p<0.001)
How do observation rates of the Purple Finch differ from those of Aves? To answer this, we examined the percentage of observerations for Aves that were observations of the Purple Finch each year. We then correlated this percentage with observation year. If observations of the Purple Finch are becoming more common relative to other species of Aves, the correlation should be positive, but if it is becoming less common, the correlation should be negative. In fact, the correlation is positive (r=.68), with a positive slope (m = .0302), suggesting that the Purple Finch may be increasing relative to other species of Aves. This correlation is statistically significant. (F = 48.05, p<.05)
The scatter chart to the right shows the percentage of all observations for Aves each year that were observations of the Purple Finch.

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia Linnaeus, 1758 - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
    - Branch: Deuterostomia Grobben, 1908 - Deuterostomes
      - Infrakingdom: Chordonia (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Phylum: Chordata Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
        Subphylum: Vertebrata Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
        Infraphylum: Gnathostomata auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
        Superclass: Tetrapoda Goodrich, 1930 - Tetrapods
        Class: Aves Linnaeus, 1758 - Birds
        Subclass: Neornithes Gadow, 1893
        Infraclass: Neoaves
        Superorder: Passerimorphae
        Order: Passeriformes Linnaeus, 1758 - Perching Birds
        Suborder: Passeri
        Series: Amniota
        Superfamily: Passeroidea
        Family: Fringillidae - Buntings, Finches
        Subfamily: Fringillinae
        Tribe: Carduelini
        Genus: Carpodacus (M and Atilde; and frac14;ller, 1776) - Purple Finches
        Specific name: purpureus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
        Scientific name: Carpodacus purpureus (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Physical Description

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Family Fringillidae:

A Family of seed-eating, small to moderately large passerine birds that have strong, stubby beaks, which in some species can be quite large. They have a bouncing flight, alternating flapping with gliding on closed wings. Most sing well.

Adult Female:

Face: Eyeline: whitish Malar: brown Body: Underparts: grayish-white with brown streaks Upperparts: brown-gray with whitish streaks Tail: Shape: deeply notched.

Adult Male:

Head: bright rosy red Crown: rosy red with brown streaks Ear Coverts: brown Face: Eyebrow Line: rosy Lores: brown Body: Back: rosy red with brown streaks Belly: white Rump: bright rosy red Tail: Undertail Coverts: white.

Size/Age/Growth:

About 5.5 to 6.25 inches long, with a wingspan of 9.25 to 10.5 inches. Adults weigh about 1.2 ounces.

Images:

Carpodacus purpureus Carpodacus purpureus Female or 1st-year male Sitting on my platform feeder Note the strong white line behind the eye and the white jaw line, which distinguish this species from similar House Finch Durham Co., NC 30 Jan 2004 Photographer: Jeffrey S. Pippen Date Taken: January 30, 2004 Copyright: © 2004 Jeffrey S. Pippen Source: web site ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 289481

Carpodacus purpureus Carpodacus purpureus Photographer: Marcus G. Martin Copyright: © Marcus G. Martin Permissions for Use: see here. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 104228

Carpodacus purpureus Carpodacus purpureus Female ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 67852

Carpodacus purpureus Carpodacus purpureus Photographer: David Stang Date Taken: February 05, 2007
Location Taken: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Copyright: © 2007 David Stang ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 211353

Carpodacus purpureus Carpodacus purpureus Male Purple Finch with two Carolina Chickadees Durham Co., NC 22 Jan 2006 Photographer: Jeffrey S. Pippen Date Taken: January 22, 2006 Copyright: © 2006 Jeffrey S. Pippen Source: web site ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 289482

Distribution

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Range and Population

North America

Habitat

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Vegetation: gallery forests, tropical deciduous forests, tropical lowland evergreen forest, pine forests • Minimum Elevation: 0 meters • Maximum Elevation: 2,500 meters • Sensitivity to Disturbance: Low.

Diet

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Almost Exclusively: Flowers Fruit Seeds

Lesser Quantities of: Insects

Reproduction

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Breeding Habitat: Woodland
Nest Location: Mid-story/canopy nesting
Nest Type: Open-cup
Clutch Size: 3-5
Length of Incubation: 13 days
Days to Fledge: 14
Number of Broods: 1 in east, 2 in west

Migration

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Northern birds migrate

Song/Voice

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Carpodacus purpureus
Recordist: Tony Phillips Date Recorded: April 01, 2002 Location of Recording: Chatham, Massachusetts

Similar Species

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Cassin's Finch, House Finch

Members of the genus Carpodacus:

Members of the genus Icterus:

Bibliography

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Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America - Eastern Region. First American Edition. Smithsonian Handbooks. DK Publishing, Inc. 2001.
Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner 1987. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C., USA. 79.
Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. (info on clutch size, length of incubation, days to fledge and number of broods.)
Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. (Length and wingspan info.)

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Notes

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Contributors:

Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 3, 2006.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 10, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 13 providers.
Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 10, 2008:

Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Birds
Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 1981-1985
Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005
Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Ontario Nest Records
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Royal British Columbia Museum
Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
EMAN Provider: PIROP (Shipboard Surveys)
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Ornithology Collection
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
University of Alaska Museum of the North: MSB Birds Specimens
University of Alberta: University of Alberta Ornithology Collection
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers:

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179186
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 240706
Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBY04020
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 13653

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Last Revised: March 24, 2008