They also stay in flocks, but their groups are smaller than a flock of pine siskins. On the other hand, house finches are significantly calmer. They forage in very tight flocks, and if another flock goes near their food source, they become noisy and threatening. So, even if the two birds are very similar in size, their shape is not.Įven outside of the breeding season, pine siskins can be highly territorial and aggressive. Also, the house finch looks more rounded in its overall shape than the pine siskin. While both birds have brown eyes, the house finch has very deep brown eyes – almost black. On the other hand, the pine siskin’s beak is almost sharp. However, the house finch’s beak is significantly shorter and more rounded. The beak of a pine siskin is cone-shaped, and the beak of a house finch is also cone-shaped. Other points of comparison between the two species are in their appearance. They also beat their wings rapidly and glide with wings outstretched, but they spend more time beating their wings than pine siskins do. On the other hand, house finches fly swiftly. It will beat its wings rapidly then glide with the wings outstretched.

But there is another identifying trait of the siskin when in flight: its tail is forked.Īdditionally, the flight of the pine siskin is very smooth.

They have no distinct markings.Īs I already mentioned above, you will see the yellow bands on the wings and tail of the siskin pine when it flies. A favorite winter bird that generally arrives in the Midwest and Great Plains states in late November to early December that has a huge. The females are gray with brown streaks across their bodies. The male house finch has a light red face and breast. The possible colors of a house finch can be red, orange, or even yellow. And when it molts, its color also changes based on its diet. The male house finch molts its feathers two times a year at most. The house finch has a very unique color – especially the males. The yellow line indicates the hierarchal rank of the bird among its fellows. They also display their yellow bands when seeking a mate. The yellow markings on its wings and tail are most visible when the bird is in flight. And its head is filled with concentrated dark brown feathers.īut its most distinct and identifying color is the yellow accent on the edge of its wings and tail. Its breast and throat are predominantly white but with brown streaks. Pine siskins are the least colorful of all other finches it is brown and streaked (light brown streaked with dark brown). The color variations between the two birds yield more distinct differences. So we must move on to other categories of comparison. It can still be challenging to tell pine siskins and house finches apart, judging by their size alone. And they weigh 16 to 27 grams on average. They grow to around 5.1 to 5.5 inches long, and their wingspans range from 7.9 inches to 9.8 inches. House finches are very slightly bigger than pine siskins in general. They weigh from 12 to 18 grams, and their wingspan ranges from 7 to 8.7 inches wide. Pine siskins grow to an average of 4 to 5.5 inches in length. Let’s begin by examining the sizes of the two bird species.