Manu Minute: The multi-colored house finch

House finches are medium-sized birds that weigh about the same as a handful of paperclips. They are sexually dimorphic — male house finches have distinctive bright yellow or red feathers around their faces and chests.

The exact coloration of a male house finch's plumage depends on their diet during molting. In Hawai΄i, house finches are sometimes called “Papaya birds” because of their affinity for the tropical fruit. Unfortunately, papaya doesn’t have as many carotenoids needed to produce the deep red color in male feathers, so many of our male House finches have more of an orange coloration.

House finches were once thought to be the closest living relative to our native Hawaiian honeycreepers. That distinction actually belongs to the closely-related rosefinch, which is not found in Hawai΄i.