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
Palatinate (colour) him by Revd Charles Whitley, Reader in Natural Philosophy at the University 1833-1854: An account, written sometime between 1876 and 1896, of Van Mildert's ceremonial entry into County Durham upon his election as bishop in 1826, refers to him wearing "a coat and waistcoat of the Palatinate purple". The scabbard of the civic sword of the City of Durham is described as being "of purple velvet, the colour of the old palatine of Durham". In the mid-19th century, the University tailor referred to the colour used in the hoods as Palatinate Blue, despite it being "really a sort of purple".