Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
Leucosticte tephrocotis
The most widespread rosy-finch. Body is the color of milk chocolate. Look for pink highlights in the wings, tail and belly. Several different populations; some have gray wrapping around the back of the head only above the eye, others have entirely gray cheek. Breeds at the highest elevations; descends to lower elevations in winter. Often in mixed flocks in winter with other rosy-finches. Feeds on seeds and insects. Look for them foraging on alpine snowfields. Visits feeders, primarily in winter.
Identification
Within the finch family, the gray-crowned rosy finch is medium-large with a comparatively long notched tail and wing. Adults are brown on the back and breast and mainly pink on the rest of the underparts and the wings. The forehead and throat are black; the back of the head is grey. They have short black legs and a long forked tail. There is some variability in the amount of grey on the head. Adult females and juveniles are similar. Overall length is 140 to 160 mm (5.5–6.3 in), wingspan 33 cm (13 in), and weight 22 to 60 g (0.78–2.12 oz). L. t. wallowa has an almost entirely gray head. The Pribilof and Aleutian subspecies have a length of 170 to 210 mm (6.7–8.3 in) and weight of 42 to 60 g (1.5–2.1 oz), about twice the size of the other subspecies. The black rosy finch has a black instead of brown body and the brown-capped rosy finch is a lighter brown and lacks the gray face patch.
Taxonomy
The gray-crowned rosy finch was first classified by English ornithologist William John Swainson in 1832. This bird has been thought to form a superspecies with three other rosy finches (also known as mountain finch): black rosy finch (L. atrata) and the brown-capped rosy finch (L. australis), all of which were classified as the same species as the Asian rosy finch (L. arctoa) from 1983 to 1993. Recent mitochondrial DNA evidence shows the rosy finches are all indeed very closely related and can be easily confused with one another. Along with one Asian rosy finch and two Asian mountain finches, the three North American rosy finches form the mountain finch genus Leucosticte. Alternative common names include: Roselin à tête grise (in French), Schwarzstirn-Schneegimpel (in German), and Pinzón Montano Nuquigrís (in Spanish).<p>Six subspecies of the gray-crowned rosy finch are now recognized, though proposals for additional subspecies have been recognized.
- Scientific name
- Leucosticte tephrocotis
- Authority
- (Swainson, 1832)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Leucosticte
Range and habitat
The ancestor of the three species of North American rosy finches migrated from Asia. All rosy finches live in an alpine or tundra environment. The gray-crowned rosy finch has a wide range and large numbers throughout Alaska, and western Canada and the United States. L. t. griseonucha permanently resides in the Aleutian Islands and umbrina on the Pribilof Islands. A small number of gray-crowned rosy finches winters on the mainland in South-Central Alaska and visits feeders there. The other taxa: littoralis, tephrocotis, wallowa, and dawsoni are found from the Canadian and American Rockies and migrate south to the western United States. L. t. tephrocotis summers from Montana to the Yukon, while littoralis breeds closer to the coast, from northern California to west-central Alaska. Due to its remote habitat, few of its nests have been found, it is rarely spotted, and the population is stable. They are invariably found amongst rocks. The areas the subspecies breed in rarely overlap during breeding season. Males typically outnumber females throughout the year.An individual was seen north of Boonville, in Lewis County, NY beginning on Sunday, March 4 through at least Thursday, March 8. This is only the second confirmed report for New York State.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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