Black-headed Mountain Finch
Leucosticte brandti
As gray as the high cliffs, rocky meadows, and glacial moraines it frequents, this mountain-finch is often quite tame and will often take food from monasteries and local highland villages. The dark head and plain body of breeding adults are unique amongst the passerines in its range. Nonbreeding birds are paler-headed, but still retain some of the darkness, especially near the bill, and are less well-marked on the back than Plain Mountain-Finch.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Leucosticte brandti
- Authority
- Bonaparte, 1850
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Leucosticte
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- OR : c, sc Palearctic from Tienshan to Altai and Himalayas in barren high-alpine zone: e Kazakhstan ne to Altay and Tuva regions (sc Russia), w, nw Xinjiang (nw China) and n, w Mongolia; in s through ne Afghanistan, e in Karakorum, s, c, e Tibet and Inner Himalayas to far n Myanmar, ne to n Qinghai and nw Gansu (nc China)
- Non-breeding range
- some move to lower elevations
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Thick-billed Seed-Finch
Sporophila funerea
Small seed-eating bird of humid tropical lowlands; uncommon. Found in damp grassy areas, overgrown weedy fields, and forest edges, often in areas with scattered bushes and small trees. Usually seen singly or in pairs, not usually in flocks with other seed-eating birds. Male plumage same as male Variable Seedeater in Mexico—black with a small white wing patch, but note very thick bill (not small and stubby). Female rich brown overall, with thicker bill than similar female Blue Bunting.
Lesser Cuckoo
Cuculus poliocephalus
Like many other cuckoos, this species is most often detected by its song, a short phrase of jumbled notes, often likened to “eat-your-choKY-pepper!”, with the latter half being significantly louder than the former half. Most adults are gray with black-barred white underparts and dark eyes. Some females are bright rufous above with dark bars across the wings and back. Juvenile is brownish above and often has faint white edging to the wing feathers. Averages smaller but also more compact and stumpy in shape than other similar cuckoos. Sings and forages in the canopy of lowland and foothill forests.
Peruvian Sierra Finch
Phrygilus punensis
Chunky finch-like tanager of high elevations. Males are yellow with a gray head, wings, and tail; females are similar but duller. Found in a variety of dry, open habitats including scrub, agricultural areas, and Polylepis woodlands. Often forages in groups on the ground, and may associate with other sierra-finches and similar species. Distinctive within its range; replaced by the similar Black-hooded Sierra-Finch farther south.
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