Photo © Stacy Dart

New Study Focuses on House Finches

A study spanning more than a century of House Finch data suggests that as California’s spring temperatures get warmer, the birds are laying eggs earlier in the season. The new study is based on data from our nest records, along with nest specimens from museums going back to 1895. 

Dr. Heather Watts of Washington State University spearheaded the investigation on these vegetarian birds. The paper notes that while insect-eating birds have been documented to shift their egg laying in association with warmer spring temperatures, birds which eat a plant-based diet (about 28% of species globally) have been understudied. The House Finch, which is also declining in California, was therefore a good study species. Read more about this research in our latest blog post.