
Male House Finch - Haemorhous mexicanus
The snowstorm we had this "spring" morning wasn't enough to dampen this handsome fella's spirits. He was up early, and not even the cold snow could hinder him from singing his morning song. Every time I snapped a picture, he would stop and stare at me. I think I was interrupting his special time.
Males have a red head and breast and a streaked, brown belly. The red coloring comes from pigments contained in its food during molt. So, the more pigment in the food, the redder the male. Females seem to prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find!
Spotted: Next to my deck in a rural area

The House Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae, which is found in North America. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch genus "Carpodacus". It has been proposed to place them in a distinct genus "Burrica", but the American Ornithologists Union rejected a proposal to do so in 2008.