Damage and Damage Identification

House finches (also known as linnets),Carpodacus mexicanus

House finches peck and feed on practically all deciduous fruits, berries, grains, vegetable seed, and flower seed. Damage involves feeding on ripening fruit such as apple, apricot, avocado, blackberry, cherry, fig, grape, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, prune, raspberry, and strawberry; buds of almonds, apricot, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, and prune; seeds of broccoli, lettuce, milo, and sunflower; and miscellaneous vegetable, flower, and tomato plantlets. They also detach the bracts of fruit buds and eat the buds; at blossom time they knock off flower petals and eat the embryonic fruits.

Damage occurs to ripening fruits during three periods:

1. Early season (damage by nesting adults).
2. Mid to late season (damage by young and adult birds resident in the locality).
3. Winter (damage to late ripening fruit by flocks of birds gathering in their winter habitat).

Debudding of fruit trees can occur in October or November but becomes most prevalent in January. A relatively small resident flock of house finches can completely debud considerable acreage because of their long period of activity. This damage is typically caused by resident local birds, wintering birds, or migratory flocks moving from one range to another.

Legal Status

House finches are classified as migratory nongame birds in the Code of Federal Regulations. Depredation permits are required from the US Fish and Wildlife Service before any control activities can be initiated. They may be controlled in California under general supervision of the county agricultural commissioner.