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Red as in Purple Finch


Red as in Purple Finch
Photo Information
Copyright: Francine Malo (NinaM) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 654 W: 0 N: 1623] (5300)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-05-03
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 40 D, Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/320 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Red Birds [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-05-03 11:44
Viewed: 754
Points: 42
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Hello TN friends, I have been quite absent lately because as spring is back, I am working in the garden a lot, cleaning what I do not clean at fall in order to make more protection for the plants during winter and grow more compost on the soil. As strange as it sounds, I do not take much pictures even though I took out my macro lens to photograph sprouts and freshly grown plants. At night, I am wrecked!

Today is raining and I took some pictures of the fabulous Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus) coming at the feeder, through the door window. At that time of the year, we see a lot of males accompanying the females. By the end of summer, I think the males gather together and leave the females to migrate south thus we only see the juveniles with their mommies at the feeders at that period.

I don't know why they call the Purple Finch "purple" because they are red, on the raspberries side whereas the House Finch is rather on the orange side. The House Finch is also a little smaller and has a brownish spot on top of the head whereas the Purple Finch head is totally raspberry except for the darker spot on the eyes. The House Finch is striped on the stomach and the Purple Finch has some darker spots on the reddish chest.

I love the songs of these birds, the male sings real loud, more like a whistle. I call them Roger Whittaker. For those of you who don't know this man, he is a singer, British I think, who sang in French and often whistled in his songs and was well-known for his whistle ;-))

They arrive at the top of the trees, with a loud song which is beautiful. It's as if they were telling they are coming.

The females are light with brown stripes, no red at all, as the juveniles. They both are easily mistaken but the juvenile has this little something you can tell it is a young. The females and males have a large bill made to break the shell of seeds. The House Finch is slowly replacing the Purple Finch and in certain areas there are no more Purple Finch. I think you now see them north of where they used to be.

I hope you enjoy this picture of this beautiful male on a Larch branch, close to a thuya. The Larch is beginning to sprout and very soon we will see its needles.

The Ospreys are back, so is the Grey Heron and the Common Loons. The lake has melted! I made a mistake this winter telling you the ice on the lake was melting end of May; it is melting at the end of APRIL! Youpi!

I will also be critiquing your pictures tonight and will try to catch up in the following days.

Meanwhile, I wish you a great weekend and thanks for reading!

Francine
Shot at ISO 1600 because the light was so dim
Cropped a little bit and levels adjusted in Lightroom

PURPLE FINCH by Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family FRINGILLIDAE - Subfamily Carduelinae

Formerly the common red finch at eastern bird feeders, the Purple Finch has been displaced in many areas by the introduced House Finch. The raspberry- or rose-colored Purple Finch lives primarily in coniferous woods and visits most of the eastern United States only in the winter.

Description

* Medium-sized finch.
* Male raspberry-red on head and chest; female brown and striped.
* Bill relatively thick and pointed.
* Size: 12-15 cm (5-6 in)
* Wingspan: 22-26 cm (9-10 in)
* Weight: 18-31 g (0.64-1.09 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male red, female brown-and-white striped.

Sound

Song a series of warbles, sometimes including imitations of songs of other birds. Call note a short low "tek."

Conservation Status

Declining in many parts of range. In the East, competition with the introduced House Finch may be responsible for the decline.

Other Names

Roselin pourpré (French)
Gorrión purpúreo (Spanish)
Cool Facts

* The Purple Finch feeds on flowers by crushing the base to get the nectar and leaving the upper flower undamaged. In a similar action, it often feeds on the seeds of fruits rather than the pulp.

* The decline of the Purple Finch in the East may be partly explained by competition with the introduced House Finch. In aggressive interactions, the House Finch nearly always wins. A population decline was noted with the introduction of the House Sparrow too, nearly 100 years earlier.

* Two subspecies of the Purple Finch are recognized, a Pacific Coast form and the more widespread form. The Pacific form differs by having a different wing shape and duller colors. The songs differ too, with Eastern birds singing a more leisurely series of warbles spanning a wider range of notes.
nglen, Art_R, Hil, boreocypriensis, jconceicao, gracious, CeltickRanger, Adanac, zulfu, meyerd, uleko, Gert-Paassen, marhowie has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 2130 W: 9 N: 5959] (22526)
  • [2008-05-03 11:46]

Hello Francine. i do like the pose you have captured in this one , with the bird looking up into the tree. You have taken good detail and natural looking colours. a nice pOV/DOF. all with good notes to. well done TFS.
Nick..

  • Great 
  • Art_R Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 201 W: 16 N: 483] (1995)
  • [2008-05-03 11:54]

Hi Francine , this is a very good photo of a beautiful bird , the color and composition are very good , as well as very nice detail. TFS

Regards

Art

  • Great 
  • Hil Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 750 W: 13 N: 1442] (4951)
  • [2008-05-03 11:57]

Hi Francine

Lovely capture of the Purple Finch.
Nicely composed with a good POV and I do like the pose as the finch looks like its listening to another bird.
Nice details and lovely contrasting colours.
Great Notes too.

Hil

  • Great 
  • mariki Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1061 W: 64 N: 2223] (9159)
  • [2008-05-03 12:03]

Hello Nima,

No time, only marking.
Cheers,
Mariki

Hi Francine,
A splendid shot of this fabulous Purple Finch friend. Nice DOF and POV. Great composition. Your notes are excellent as usual.
Many thanks and regards,
Bayram

  • Great 
  • RP1 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 169 W: 1 N: 124] (2098)
  • [2008-05-03 13:11]

Bonjour Francine,
Très belle photo avec de belles couleurs. J'aime la composition et l'arrière plan.
Merci,
Roger

Hello Francine,

Beautiful photo.Nice colours with excellent details.I liked very much.

Bonjour Francine,
The pose of the Purple Finch really cute with the wonderful red on the plummage!
good clarity, nice colour and details in the shot!
also many thanks for the notes
well done
best regards
Tony

  • Great 
  • jossim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1674 W: 5 N: 2130] (11898)
  • [2008-05-03 17:00]

Bonjour Francine,

Bravo pour cette belle composition. J'aime la pose de l'oiseau et les couleurs.
Merci.
Joseh

bonjour Francine

belle image Roselin pourpré, avec un excellent POV, DOF
et cadrage, j'aimes la pose de la tête de l'oiseau,
j'aimes également l'environnement autour de l'oiseau,
superbe netteté et détails de l'avant-plan, TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1111 W: 1 N: 4518] (15128)
  • [2008-05-03 20:24]

Hello My Friend,
The pose is cute, almost as if he hears a reply far off and he is staining to hear. Wonderful colors and nice sharpness in this beautiful composition. Thank you Francine, stay well and have a great week end.
Rick

  • Great 
  • Heaven Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 533 W: 88 N: 1019] (3743)
  • [2008-05-03 22:42]

Bobjour Francine

C'est vrai que l'écran d'ordinateur, en cette saison, n'est pas aussi attrayant que la nature. Ce matin, j'ai déjà fait une promenade dehors; maintenant, j'écoute le chant des oiseaux en parcourant tes pohtos et celles de quelques autres membres de TN. Je suis chaque ravi de tes images, toutes simples, tellement réelles et belles. Elles me parlent, tout à l'image de tes textes.

Merci beaucoup pour cela, pour cette amitié "virtuelle" et pour la régularité de tes visites chez moi.

Amitiés

Markus

Coucou Francine,
voila un bien joli tableau, les couleurs sont splendides, très bonne mise au point et très jolie composition,
bravo
amicalement,
Pat

  • Great 
  • zulfu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 597 W: 0 N: 117] (667)
  • [2008-05-04 4:51]

Hello Francine, splendid capture of this beautifully coloured Red Finch:) with nice details. Great composition. TFS. Regards,
Mehmet

Hi Francine,
very well executed, this portrait of the finch with the light coming from the side. The bird has a particular stance, maybe looking at you, which makes the picture lively. Nice, natural background too. I like the shot . Thanks also for the detailed note.
My best regards
Dietrich

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2580 W: 170 N: 7866] (24875)
  • [2008-05-04 6:56]

Hello Francine,
This is a fine capture of this beautiful Purple Finch in a natural environment. I like its pose and the colour is beautiful. Fine sharpness too and well composed.
TFS and regards, Ulla

Hello Francine,

Lovely picture of this finch, good pose and pov.

Gert

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1880 W: 245 N: 6158] (21922)
  • [2008-05-04 13:39]

This little finch stands out like a gem!
Gorgeous colours and tones.
Brilliant composition too.
Sharp and crisp with lots of detail.
I like the inquisitive pose of the finch.
Well done Francine!!!

Joe

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1803 W: 29 N: 5240] (17162)
  • [2008-05-05 0:27]

Hi Francine,
Outstanding shot and the cute little Purple Finch stands out from among the natural surrounding so well. Very neat and sharp image with superb lighting and nice colours. Nice pose captured here with your well chosen POV. Very nicely composed. kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

Hi Francine,
Well focused with great color, and exposure. I like the upturned head, nice pose. The bird looks good framed in all that green too :)
Howard

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2008-05-17 22:35]

Hello Francine

A very good capture of this beautiful bird.
I like the curious look with the head cocked to one side.
The colours are well saturated.
The natural setting is lovely,with rich green tones.
Well done.
TFS


Rob

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