Jobless,

In fact both Cassin's & Purple have been carefully documented from the
Camas Creek burn; perhaps the Purples nest in the deciduous riparian
habitat below & the Cassins' in the pines on the hillsides?

Gene Hunn.

On Wed, 8 Feb 1995, Jobless in Seattle wrote:

>
> Earlier today (2/8/95) Roger Peffer wrote:
>
> > I am looking for information regarding hybridization of finches. In
> > particular: Cassin's Finch (Carpodacus cassinnii) and Purple Finch
> > etc. etc.
>
> An interesting problem. I do not have any information but have recently
> thought about a related question. Finchy birds are often very similar
> in appearance, and the songs do not help much in IDing them. I still
> have problems differentiating the Cassin's and Purple. I observed a flock of
> finches last summer (7/3/94) at the Camus Creek burn, a spot which according
> to the WA bird finding guide has produced Cassin's in the past.
> I believe that during this time of year, Cassin's is the prevalent species
> east of the mountains (according to range maps in the field guides).
> The birds I saw, however, looked a lot like Purples.
>
> 1. Any good hints on this ID problem ? (possible addition to NW bird
> ID threads !)
>
> 2. Any DNA studies done on W. Purple (californicus) vs. E. Purple
> (purpureus) ? The S.A.M. list does not show a potential split,
> perhaps because of a lack of DNA studies rather than the existence
> of conclusive studies which demonstrate their uni-species status.
> I don't know. In any case there is quite a difference in E. and W.
> purples, especially in the females. The only place where range overlap
> and hence interbreeding studies could have taken place is in C. Canada.
> I am talking here about E. Purple vs. W. Purple. Sorry Roger if this is
> a little bit off track from your original Cassin's/Purple query.
>
> Anyways, gotta go. I'm off to my categorists anonymous meeting. I feel
> an ensuing relapse ...
>
>