Unusual Bird: all black house finch?
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This bird has been visiting my feeders for several days now. It feeds along with house finches and house sparrows, but doesn’t seem to interact with them. For example, if the flock flies away because something startled it, this one doesn’t follow their lead. It has been eating suet, mixed seed an thistle. It always comes here at dusk. I sent these pics to Anne Marie Johnson to ask if it was possible for it to be a Black-Faced Grassquit, as that’s the only bird I’ve been able to find that resembles it. Her response was “It looks to me like a melanistic female House Finch.” Thoughts? Whatever it is, I’ve never seen one before in many years of bird watching.
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30 comments on “Unusual Bird: all black house finch?”
I had two of these a couple of years ago at my feeder in winter. They stayed about a week or so. I to wondered if they were Grassquits but was told not likely. I eventually found photos that looked like them and they were melanistic house finches I’m certain.
I’m pretty sure the one eating black oil sunflower from my finch/chickadee feeders was similar. I could get a picture, it did only stay on perch a few seconds after it caught my eye, and it was on the back side from my window. Couldn’t get a photo.
One resembling your description just visited my feeder, but I was unable to get a pic. It looked just like an all black finch!
I came here because I had a pair of these at my feeders today! Hmm.
I just spotted a similar bird at my feeder today in upstate NY. It looks like an entirely black finch- short tail (shorter than yours and forked), short black beak, black legs, black eye. I was too far away to get a good photo, darn.
We just had one of these at our backyard feeder here in southwest Ohio. Came and went with a flock of House Finches. It was all black with a dusky greyish underbelly and faint markings of a typical House Finch (just all in hues of black). It was a first for us!
I just had about 10 of these on my suet pellet feeder. They definitely look like jet black house finches. Feather, eyes, legs, beak are all black. We have a lot of house and gold finches this year in Northeast Connecticut.
One has showed up at my feeder two weekends in a row in eastern North Carolina
Just had a single land on my feeder here in Central Texas. Pure, jet black. Beautiful.
I’ve had one at my feeder two weeks in a row in Picture Rocks Arizona
I had one on my bag finch feeder this morning in western Iowa.
I had one on my bag finch feeder this morning in Western Iowa.
I agree that it is a melanistic House Finch.
Spotted one last year in Spring, then again in June this year, in Phoenix. Thanks for the info feederwatchers! Identifying this weird bird was beyond the capabilities of the any of the searchable databases I tried online. Yeah humans!
Hi, not a bird watcher persa, but saw one of these black finch’s with a common green? Type finch at Alton Downs outside rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Looked up on your site, enjoyed
I had one the other day eating spilled Niger seed..never seen one before. North of Toronto!
I also Came here today because I saw one at my feeder. couldnt get picture but its head was reddish, very dark body and the red was also very dark.
I’m in Maine
The one I saw may be different because although everythibg else sounded similar, this one did not have a black beak.
We saw a flock of small all black birds 3 days ago, Christmas Eve. We never saw them before and we have seen just about everything here.
Did it walk one foot in front of the other, likeva duck instead of hopping?
I’m in North Centeral Texas, and currently trying have over 20 of these birds coming to my feeders. They eat more off the ground then from my feeders so far but the finches drop a lot. I’m not sure this is a melanistic house finch. I have a flock of then. Not sure how I would get 20 at a time.
Hi, could you tell me if they hop or walk like a duck
We have seen one that looks like a black finch, and it walks one foot in front in the other, like duck, instead of hopping like most small birds I see.
Today – May 28 – Cape Cod, MA
I also have what looks like a female house finch with a black breast. Have seen her a few times over the past few weeks.
Have had one with a black breast only on and off since the spring – it is now July 27 and I just saw it again on my tube feeder, primarily sunflower hearts. This is on Cape Cod in MA.
Also joining the convo to say I had an very dark appearing (almost black/dark gray) one that resembles this picture. It visited my black oil sunflower seed feeder along with a group of house finches, house sparrows, and dark eyed junco. Located in western WA!
The past couple days I’ve had a small flock visiting my walkway. They seem to travel with a flock of morning doves that frequent us. They remind me of an all black snow bunting, they appeared as we got hit with enough snow to accumulate. They come in the early morning and just before nightfall along with the doves to pick at the seed we spread for them.
A dozen or more in a group come to the window feeder with purple finches, sparrows, and juncos. All black as described by others above. Yellow beak is smaller than the finches and do not scare away like the others. Have lived here 53 years and first time seeing this bird. Currently we have high winds with this snow storm. South of Buchanan MI woods and farm fields surrounding.
Dark birds with small yellow beaks sound like Dark-eyed Juncos. Do the birds have white bellies? You can learn more about Dark-eyed Juncos on the Cornell Lab’s All About Birds website (www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco), and you can use the Lab’s free Merlin app to identify birds (merlin.allaboutbirds.org).
I have a pair at my feeders this year for the first time. assume they are male and female since one is jet black and the other a dark gray. Central Texas between Austin and San Antonio.