What kind of bird

Looks like a female purple finch.

 

female purple finch has a white streak above the eye, absent the white streak it could be a house finch.

house finch has softer contrast between the markings and even without seeing the white streak above/behind the eye that looks more like a purple finch than a house finch to me. Depending on how good the photo is I guess it could be either.

 

Pipsquak

 

I cut the perches very short on the tube feeders here since the purple finches tend to hog the seed and take up residence on the perches.

 

Tom & Jerry fan, mwalsh?

 

Looks like a cold finch

 

I’m no expert but it looks like a yearling when they are very hard to tell apart.

 

Weren't we all?

 

Bobcatwhite?

 

Grey Sparroweater?

 

sun-seeking4 legged catbirds ?

 

C'mon! It took long enough before someone guessed the obvious "catbird"?

 

You sure those aren't house finches plaguing your feeders? They look so very similar. My experience has been that purple finches are shyer and only pal around in small numbers. They also will share the feeders without a fuss. House finches will group together in larger numbers and are quite the hogs at feeders. Of course different circumstances may produce different behaviors - so you may be right in identification. Here is a nifty pictorial that helps with identification of mature birds.

BTW, the bird pictured by Backwoods Savage is most likely a purple finch, going by territories. But the house finch has an ever expanding territory so without further information (or a trained expert), I think absolute identification is unlikely.

 

Good post bogieb. House finches around here join a winter flock and live in the hedges of residential properties where there are a lot of feeding opportunities and nesting sites.