As Roger points out, the area he is banding in is a well known spot for east
slope Purple Finches. The burn area attracted Black-backs which in turn
attracted birders who discovered that, "Hey, that's not a Cassins, it's a
Purple." The Purples are also found in several of the adjoining
canyons. Apparently, the Purples are not there for the burn, the birders
are.

In my experience, there appear to be small localized groups of Purple
Finches
in at least several places along the east slopes of the Cascades and
Sierra,
in areas along the lower reaches of the forested areas. Under these
conditions
hybridization might not be unexpected.

Could be a great project!

Jerry Tangren
Washington State University
Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center
1100 N. Western Ave.
Wenatchee WA 98801

E-mail: Jerry_Tangren at tfrec.ncw.net
Phone: 509-663-8181 ext 231