Cassin's Finch - Carpodacus cassinii
General Description
Male’s plumage red coloration concentrated on cap, with back, breast, and flanks pale and pinkish; undertail-coverts, and often flanks, finely streaked, in contrast to pure white of Purple Finch. In female and immature males, breast and flanks more cleanly white and more finely streaked in Cassin’s Finch than in Purple Finch; back and rump olive-grayish.
Distribution
Montana Range
Observations in Montana: 1808
Montana CountiesBeaverhead, Big Horn, Blaine, Broadwater, Carbon, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Golden Valley, Granite, Hill, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Phillips, Powder River, Powell, Ravalli, Rosebud, Sanders, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Valley, Wheatland, Yellowstone
Migration
In Bozeman area normal migration periods are Apr 13-May 25 and Aug 15-Sep 30 .
Habitat
Species prefers open coniferous forests of interior western mountains along with mature forests of lodgepole pine.
Food Habits
Diet consists of mostly vegetable matter, particularly buds, seeds, berries and other fruits, along with some insects.
Reproductive Characteristics
Double brooded species with 4-5 eggs per brood. Incubation period 12-14 days. Young able to fly about 14 days after hatch.