Nature Study: Baby Birds

This nest with baby House Finches was lovingly and patiently built by their by parents early this Spring.  We watched as the mother and father bird flew in with single blades of grass, thin twigs and various other organic materials from our back yard.  They worked tirelessly around the clock until the nest was perfect.

We observed the mother bird sitting in the nest, waiting, while the father bird gathered food and delivered it to the nest.  We were sure there were eggs in the nest and our suspicions were confirmed yesterday as we saw two hungry baby birds with open beaks waiting for nourishment.  They aren't chirping yet, they just very quietly wait for their parents to return to the nest...

Through visual observation, we discovered that the father bird has red/orange feathers on his throat, chest and head.  The mother bird is various shades of light brown with a dark tail (almost black).

We learned that House Finches feed their nestlings an exclusively vegetarian diet which is rare in the bird world.  Usually birds become vegetarians as adults, but feed their young protein rich foods such as worms and insects.

House Finch Nesting Facts 

Clutch Size
2–6 eggs
Egg Length
0.6–0.8 in 1.6–2.1 cm
Egg Width
0.5–0.6 in 1.3–1.5 cm
Incubation Period
13–14 days
Nestling Period
12–19 days

Egg Description

Pale blue to white, speckled with fine black and pale purple.

Condition at Hatching

Naked except for sparse white down along feather tracts, eyes closed, clumsy. We will use the following books to assist us in our Nature Study which will evolve from baby birds to adult birds, nests (click here to see our Nest Building activity), their behaviors, songs
 and much more!