Purple Finch

Purple Finch

Haemorhous purpureus

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Gros Morne National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

279 Verified sightings at Gros Morne National Park From 2019 to 2026
6,793 In all 21 parks
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Purple Finch

The purple finch (Haemorhous purpureus) is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. It breeds in the northern United States, southern Canada, and the west coast of North America. The purple finch was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the finches in the genus Fringilla and coined the binomial name Fringilla purpurea. Gmelin specified the locality as Carolina. Gmelin based his account on the "purple finch" that had been described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. The purple finch is now one of three finches placed in the genus Haemorhous that was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist William Swainson.

Two subspecies are recognised: This species and the other "American rosefinches" were formerly included with the rosefinches of Eurasia in the genus Carpodacus; however, the three North... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:02

United States · 2026

© Ed Pandolfino · XC1152019 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:17

United States · 2021

© Russ Wigh · XC614293 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Flight call0:49

United States · 2016

© Matt Wistrand · XC342339 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~30%
2 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Gros Morne National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
4 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
5 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
6 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
7 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Cape Breton Highlands National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
9 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
10 Voyageurs National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
11 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
12 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
13 Isle Royale National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
14 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
15 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
16 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
17 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
18 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
19 Congaree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
20 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
21 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
2 Seattle 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Montreal 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
6 Edmonton 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
7 Sacramento 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 New York City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Chicago 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Purple Finch in Gros Morne National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Finch sighting in Gros Morne National Park on a given day, based on 279 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 130 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Purple Finch in Gros Morne National Park?

February

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Finch in Gros Morne National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March–April and August–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Purple Finch?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple Finch sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Gros Morne National Park the best place to see a Purple Finch?

3rd of 21

Of the 21 parks where we can rate Purple Finch sightings, Gros Morne National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Kluane National Park (Canada, about 30%) and Acadia National Park (United States, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Purple Finch live in Gros Morne National Park?

Same family: Fringillidae

The closest relatives of the Purple Finch that you can see in Gros Morne National Park (family Fringillidae, Finches, Euphonias, and Allies) are Pine Grosbeak (about 30%), Pine Siskin (about 30%) and American Goldfinch (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Purple Finch sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Purple Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in Gros Morne National Park (279 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

← Back to Gros Morne National Park