Cassin's Finch

Cassin's Finch

Haemorhous cassinii

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Rocky Mountain National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

1,318 Verified sightings at Rocky Mountain National Park From 2019 to 2026
4,425 In all 14 parks
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Cassin's Finch

Cassin's finch (Haemorhous cassinii) is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are placed in the genus Haemorhous. This bird was named after John Cassin, who was a curator at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

Measurements: Length: 6.3 in (16 cm) Weight: 0.8–1.2 oz (24–34 g) Wingspan: 9.8–10.6 in (25–27 cm) Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings. They have a longer bill than the purple finch. Adult males are raspberry red on the head, breast, back and rump; their back and under-tail are streaked. Adult females have light brown upper-parts and light underparts with brown streaks throughout; their facial markings are less distinct than those of the female purple finch. They can have brown, red, and white eyes.

Their breeding habitat is coniferous forest in mountains of western North America as far south as northern New Mexico and Arizona; also Southern California near Baja California. They nest in large conifers. They move to lower elevations in winter.

Northernmost breeding birds migrate south, as do some birds throughout the range of the species... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:06

United States · 2026

© Ed Pandolfino · XC1153562 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:58

United States · 2020

© Richard E. Webster · XC621695 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Recording1:13

Canada · 2001

© Peter Ward and Ken Hall · XC598465 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
11 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
12 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
13 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
14 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Anchorage 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
3 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
4 Edmonton 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
5 Las Vegas 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 Sacramento 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
7 Los Angeles 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Phoenix 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Cassin's Finch in Rocky Mountain National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cassin's Finch sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 1,318 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 40th most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Cassin's Finch in Rocky Mountain National Park?

January and February

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Cassin's Finch in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, against about 10% in August to November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Cassin's Finch?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cassin's Finch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Rocky Mountain National Park the best place to see a Cassin's Finch?

Among the best

Of the 14 parks where we can rate Cassin's Finch sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Yosemite National Park (United States, about 20%).

Where does the Cassin's Finch sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Cassin's Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (1,318 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.

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