House finch (Photo by Brian E. Small)

An experienced birder might think this lame, but I've been confused for quite a while now about one of the species that regularly visits my feeders every winter. Was it a house finch or a purple finch? 

Thanks to Brian E. Small and Paul Sterry, I have my answer.

Sterry is a wildlife author who has written or co-authored more than 50 books. Small, the current photo editor of Birding magazine, has contributed photographs for a number of field guides.  The two have teamed up on two new photographic field guides,  Birds of Eastern North America and a counterpart for western birds. They're due out from Princeton University Press today, and each costs $18.95.

The book is flat-out gorgeous.  We see the birds standing, swimming and in flight. There's the usual field buide-style information -- maps of their range, what they sound like, etc. -- but this book seems to make things uniquely clear. I can't wait to go try it out on gulls at the shore.

Meanwhile, I've been able to conclude that the reddish bird at my feeders is, indeed, a house finch. The picture was unmistakeable. Better yet, the purple finch and house finch were on the same page, so I didn't have to flip back and forth to compare them. The house finch, is widespread in lightly wooded habitats, Sterry notes. Like my yard. I'll have to listen for it, too. It's voice, he says, is a series of "rich, chattering phrases," and its call is "a shrill whee'ert."

In case you'd like to see one yourself, here's an observation tip: "Hard to miss."

I should have known.