Cassin's Finch
(Haemorhous cassinii)

Overview

Summary

© Tony Battiste
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Canadian populations of the Cassin's Finch fluctuate widely, a pattern typical of many forest finches. Results from the Breeding Bird Survey suggest a large decrease in population since about 1970, though the moderate precision of this result means the reliability of this assessment is considered medium. In 2004, the species was listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Near Threatened because of the range-wide population decline. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1970-2016)
• British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas (2008-2017): Breeding Evidence

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation

General nesting period in Canada

Conservation and management

Cassin's Finch breed in the coniferous forests of the western interior mountains. Causes for the population decline are largely unknown, although the Mountain Pine beetle epidemic may be affecting their habitat through loss of cone crops and changing forest habitat. It has been noted that selective logging or small-scale clear-cutting may potentially benefit this species (Hahn 1996).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Hahn, T.P. 1996. Cassin's Finch (Carpodacus cassinii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Hahn, T.P. 1996. Cassin's Finch (Carpodacus cassinii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)