Black-winged Snowfinch
Montifringilla adamsi
A flash of bright white wings over a highland meadow or pasture is usually the look one gets at this dull brown finch. One of the less well-marked snowfinches; male is gray with brown back and wings and female is dull with no head markings. Often found in medium-sized flocks near human habitation where it forages for leftover food and crops.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Montifringilla adamsi
- Authority
- Adams, 1859
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passeridae
- Genus
- Montifringilla
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL : sc Palearctic in Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe near water, villages: Ladakh (nw India) through w Tibet, in s to n Nepal and n Sikkim; ne Qinghai, w Gansu s to e Tibet and sc Sichuan
- Non-breeding range
- nomadic but remaining at high elevations
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds

Yellow-breasted Tailorbird
Orthotomus samarensis
A small, long-billed, long-tailed bird of dense undergrowth in lowland forest on Bohol, Leyte, and Samar islands. Olive-green on the back and wings, with an orange-brown tail often held cocked, yellow underparts, a thin yellow line around the back of the neck, and a black cap. Female has a white throat with some streaking around the edge, while the male has a black bib and a small white chin. Similar in size and shape to Rufous-fronted Tailorbird, but has yellow underparts and a black head. Voice includes monotonous piping notes given in series.

Gray-headed Goshawk
Tachyspiza poliocephala
An Inconspicuous, mid-sized raptor of the lowland and foothill forest interior. Dark eye, dark gray back, pale gray head and whitish belly, although a rare, dark-bellied form also occurs. Scans the forest floor from the mid-story for reptiles and insects. Orange facial skin and legs make it unmistakable in its range. Call, a high pitched “wi-ki-ki!” or longer series, sometimes given while stretching its wings straight up above its back, in display.

Slaty-capped Flycatcher
Leptopogon superciliaris
Small flycatcher with gray cap, black ear patch, and buffy wingbars. Head pattern looks messy. Olive back and pale yellow belly. Most similar to Sepia-capped Flycatcher, but that species has a brown cap (not gray). Also very similar to bristle-tyrants of South America but note buffy wingbars and voice—a commonly heard, explosive “pseek!” sometimes with a sputtering trill at the end. Look for singles or pairs in forests and edges, usually not too high in the trees. Often follows mixed-species flocks.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.