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

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

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

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.

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