HOFI is the banding code for the house finch, a bird named for their preference for nesting in the nooks and eaves of houses. You've probably seen or heard them as they're one of the most common birds in the DMV area. Sparrow sized, they're easily Identifiable by their large bills, reddish heads and streaking. They aren't native to the eastern US but were taken to New York City illegally as pets. To escape prosecution, some of these pet traders released their captive finches in the 1940s. before long these scrappy birds established colonies around New York and eventually across the whole eastern half of the country. 

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I decided to rename my company after the house finch not only because I love birds but because I think the house finch is the perfect symbol of the DC resident. Our "state" bird is the wood thrush, an iconic summer resident of Rock Creek Park, but if I had to pick a replacement I'd pick the house finch. DC is an artificial city, placed here for political reasons and subsequently settled by transplants from other cities. So many DC area residents are still transplants, myself included, who come for all kinds of reasons. Just like those newly released house finches people manage to make new communities and settle down, until they call DC home.