Blanford's Snowfinch

Pyrgilauda blanfordi

Like many other snowfinches, the Blanford’s is found in open areas on high-altitude steppes and hills, but generally prefers drier areas than other species. Predominantly white and brown with a black crescent curving around the front of the face and a pale orange one curving around the back, giving the bird a somewhat round-cheeked appearance. Often quite tame, taking scraps from hikers, monks, and shepherds.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Pyrgilauda blanfordi
Authority
(Hume, 1876)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Passeridae
Genus
Pyrgilauda

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Hooded Tanager

Hooded Tanager

Nemosia pileata

Small tanager found in semiopen woodlands, savannas, and pastures with scattered trees often in association with mixed-species flocks. In males note the yellow eyes contrasting with its black hood and white forehead. Otherwise mostly gray above and white below. Females lack the black cap and have a bicolored bill, which is all black in males, and generally look duller overall.

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

Plocepasser mahali

A large, boldly patterned brown-and-white sparrow-weaver. The bold white eyebrow, wingbars, and rump are striking. Family groups are resident in arid thorn scrub and drier broadleaf woodland, where they make messy nests in trees and forage mostly on the ground for insects and seed. The song is high-pitched, varied, and metallic, sounding like a computer-generated laser gun. The similar Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver differs from White-browed Sparrow-Weaver by having a brown (not white) rump and a chestnut (not dark brown) head with a different pattern.

Pink-headed Imperial-Pigeon

Pink-headed Imperial-Pigeon

Ducula rosacea

Large elegant pigeon with dark olive-green wings and back. “Pink” on the upperparts is at most a faint blush and is often not noticeable. Similar Green Imperial-Pigeon is brighter green on the upperparts and lacks Pink-headed’s weakly contrasting pale gray “collar”. Typically an offshore species of forests on small islets, though can sometimes be found along the coastlines of larger islands. Listen for its song, a melancholy descending series of booming coos: “OO-OO-OOh-ooh-oo”.

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