I find it fascinating that some of the most interesting bird specimens occur in our own backyards. This is an interesting bird. Three things that need to be kept in mind for plausible bird IDing are these: does the bird normally occur in that area, does the bird occur in that area during THAT SEASON, and is this bird engaging in behavior typical for the suspected species. Using these guidelines, we can quickly rule out Rose-breasted Grosbeak (a summertime only visitor to WV) and Bay-breasted Warbler (a bird that only visits the US in the summer and its range does not even include WV. Also, they are not "feeder" birds). I had to take a close look at this to rule out a Common Redpoll. Once I saw the close up photo I could see the head is mostly red (redpolls have a red spot only) and the dark lines on the head and lack of chest streaking rule out the redpoll (among some other things as well). In the winter, when seeing red birds at US feeders, one has to rule out Crossbills. This bird is not a Crossbill. This brings us to the Purple Finch. This bird has interesting plumage but it still fits that of a purple finch. The bill is not as thick as a House Finch but otherwise House Finch sized bird- check. Dark ear patch, cap, and malar stripe- check. A light-colord belly and lack of streaking on the underside- check. Location, season, and behavior all fit. Your bird is a MALE PURPLE FINCH with an interesting white collar. Purple Finches can vary significantly from bird to bird.

Hi, sorry, a little late to the party. I just moved to CO and this is my first winter here, used to live in MI. In MI, I rarely saw a finch in the winter. Here is CO, I have a lot of finches (red right now but some were yellow in the fall). I also get titmice (titmouses?), chickadees, downy woodpeckers, and flickers on a daily basis. Anyway, I have both black oilers in a tube and suet basket. The finches, titmice, and chickadees seem to like the suet. They eat both the seed and the suet, but the suet is what attracted them in the first place.

In the first two pictures, you can see brown streaking on the sides just below the red breast feathers. This indicates House Finches. The brown streaking is lacking in male Purple and Cassin's Finches. BN

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