Pink-browed Rosefinch
Carpodacus rodochroa
Graceful medium-sized rosefinch of the Himalayas. Male is bright raspberry pink with a clean “browed” facial pattern and faint streaking on the back. Female is brown with streaked buffy underparts, broad white eyebrows, and lightly streaked pale cheeks and throat. Favors subalpine forest edge and grassy hillsides with scrubby cover in the breeding season; descends in the winter, using similar habitat in the foothills. Gives a loud, insistent “teeLEE!”
Identification
The pink-browed Rosefinch is a medium-sized bird, about 14-15 centimeters and 16-20 grams. It is a slender bird with a pointed beak, indented tail, and black eyes.<p>The male is a bright raspberry color with an eyestripe and “browed” facial patterns. The bird's underparts are a reddish brown color, and the breast and upper belly are mauve. The lower belly to the undertail is white or pale pin, and the legs are pale brown.<p>The female mostly lacks pink color, being a variety of streaked browns or blackish colors with only light streaks of pale pink. The back of the neck and head are a darker gray color. Instead of facial patterns like the male, the female has white eyebrows. The tale is dark brown, and there are streaks of dark brown on the lower throat. <p>A juvenile pink-browed Rosefinch looks more like a female than a male as a first-summer juvenile. It is more brown than pink. The second-winter male has reddish-brown upperparts with a little pale pink but heavy dark streaks on underparts.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Carpodacus rodochroa
- Authority
- (Vigors, 1831)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Carpodacus
Range and habitat
The pink-browed Rosefinch is a bird species in various habitats, including forests, shrublands, grasslands, and artificial/terrestrial environments. Its range spans South and East Asia, specifically Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. This species is adapted to a wide range of elevations, with its upper elevation limit reaching 4,540 meters and its lower elevation limit being 1,800 meters.
- Breeding range
- PAL, OR : sc Palearctic-n Oriental region in w to ec Himalayas, in montane grassy slopes, scrub and forest edge: from n Pakistan and Kashmir to Bhutan and s, se Tibet
- Non-breeding range
- to lower elevations
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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