House Finches were live-trapped in California after World War I and sold in eastern pet stores as "Hollywood Finches."
In 1940, however, the sale of domestic-caught wild songbirds was banned. Caught with a small inventory of now illegal "Hollywood" Finches, a pet store in Long Island simply released them out the back door. From this modest and impromptu introduction sprang the millions of rose-headed finches we now have storming bird feeders across the East.
On the upside, the House Finch proved to be aggressive enough to "beat back" the imported English House Sparrow, and a kind of detente now exists, with each bird helping to hold down the other's population.
And yes, this bird was photographed in front of a house next to a flood plain.
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