The House Finch at Victoria, British Columbia
The House Finch at Victoria, British Columbia
A recent note of interest is that of the occurrence of the House Finch (Carpoducus mexicanus) as a breeding resident at Victoria, British Columbia. The birds were first noticed on May ZS, when the sone of the male attracted mv attentinn. From that date I saw one or both birds daily and soon discovered that they were feeding young. The nest was situated 9 feet from the ground in a Virginia creeper on the south-facing wall of a brick building. On June 10 the writer, accompanied by Mr. Kenneth Racey of Vancouver, B. C., found that the young had left the nest, and two specimens were secured.
Five days later the male was again in full song, and the female was seen carrying nesting material to a new site on the same building. The male of the pair is evidently a young bird, as there is but a slight trace of yellowish pink on the face and throat. The area surrounding the base of the bill appears strongly darker than the rest of the head. The bird is almost identical with a specimen taken in Berkeley on May 16, 1935.
In as much as this iinch for the past 3 or 4 years has been reported by Mr. S. J. Darcus, on the basis of sight records, as a regular breeding resident at Penticton, B. C., it will be interesting to see if the House Finch is permanently extending its range to include the humid Transition Zone of coastal British Columbia and the arid Transition Zone of the interior of the province.
Ian Mctaggart Cowan
Provincial Museum, Victoria, B. C., June 19, 1937
