Bird

Purple Finch

Carpodacus purpureus

Lives in North Carolina all year and nests here. Found in all 100 counties, across 25 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 100 counties
Habitats: 25

Male Purple Finch, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Bill Keim, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 620580860. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 100 counties
Habitats: 25
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in North Carolina 25

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 25

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large FloodplainNamed place / source context. Shown: Congaree Swamp National Monument floodplain forest, South Carolina; representative illustration, no exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.fallen (uprooted) tree, John Dawson, by1988. Public domain. Source record.

WinterSouthern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine ModifierNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland SystemsRegional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

WinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

WinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointCove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old FieldLyell Carr, Black Mountain: a pasture and hayfield with a log barn, rail fence and grazing cow below the Black Mountains. Black Mountain, North Carolina (Lyell E. Carr)*Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain"*, Lyell Carr, c. 1890-1912. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointSpruce-fir forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt)*Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70*, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampNamed place / source context. Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretationView, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

WinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest

Mountain balds

Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.

SummerWinterSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier; Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

SummerWinter

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

SummerWinter

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

WinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems

Other habitats in its models (151)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in North Carolina. Those recorded in North Carolina first, the rest by region.

In North Carolina 2

Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Winter.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Winter.

Elsewhere in the South (74)

Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
Cumberland Riverscour Winter.
Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Winter.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Winter.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Winter.
Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Winter.
South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Winter.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Winter.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.

Northeast (10)

Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Winter.

Midwest (10)

Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Winter.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Winter.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Winter.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Winter.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Winter.

Land cover and other classes (55)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Winter.
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Developed, High Intensity Summer and winter.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Winter.
Recently Burned Grassland Winter.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in North Carolina

Year-round: nests here, in 2 of 100 counties.
Winter: does not nest here, in all 100 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in North Carolina, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Purple Finch uses many habitats in North Carolina; these are its 3 most characteristic.