Purple finch There are two subspecies of the purple finch, "H. p. purpureus" and "H. p. californicus". "H. p. californicus" was identified by Spencer F. Baird in 1858. It differs from the nominate subspecies in that it has a longer tail and shorter wings. The plumage of both males and females is darker, and the coloration of the females is more greenish. The bill of "C. p. californicus" is also longer than that of the nominate subspecies. Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings and are about in length and weigh . Adult males are raspberry red on the
Purple-crowned fairywren or reddish-chocolate in females) and the deep blue colour of their perky tails. Subspecies designation was originally based on differences in plumage coloration and body size of museum skins. More recent genetic analyses continue to support this split. The species was first collected in 1855 and 1856 by the surgeon J. R. Elsey at Victoria River and Robinson River. Alternative names for the purple-crowned fairywren include crowned superb warbler, lilac-crowned fairywren, lilac-crowned wren, mauve-crowned wren, purple-crowned warbler, purple-crowned wren, and purple-crowned wren-warbler. Two subspecies are currently recognized: The purple-crowned fairywren is a sexually dimorphic, small bird measuring approximately 14 cm