My first positive sighting of a purple finch.    Two things made it stand out from the -- usually -- more common house finches.   1. The color really is like raspberry jam, as the books say.    2.  The raspberry color extends onto the feathers of the back instead of stopping at the head or neck.

Even house finches have been rare at my feeders for most of the past 2 years, while they were fairly common before.   Don't know why. 

Photo is much cropped and adjusted, and doesn't show the coloring of the back well.   But this is the bird.