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
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!
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