Red-fronted Rosefinch
Carpodacus puniceus
A large finch of extreme conditions, this is a breeder of sparsely vegetated, often barren environments such as glacier and cliff edges, rocky slopes, scrubby open meadows, and boulder fields; descends into open or scrubby habitat in the winter. Male is dark streaky brown with a crimson face and breast; female is streaky brown all over with no hint of a facial pattern. Large size and habitat serve to distinguish this from similar species.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Carpodacus puniceus
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1845)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Carpodacus
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL, OR : sc Palearctic in Altai, Himalayan, Tibetan Plateau high-alpine scree, meadows, bogs, cliffs: se Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, w Xinjiang (nw China) and ne Afghanistan through Tibetan Plateau to Qinghai and Gansu and s through Himalayas to n Myanmar and n Yunnan (sc China)
- Non-breeding range
- some altitudinal movement during severe weather
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Tawny Grassbird
Cincloramphus timoriensis
Large songbird, tawny with streaking above, paler below, with rich brown crown and long, graduated tail. In similar grassland and reedbed habitats, smaller Golden-headed Cisticola has much shorter tail, Little Grassbird is duller in plumage, and Australian Reed-Warbler has plain, unstreaked plumage. Calls often, with loud, grumpy churring calls and a longer call that starts “tick-tick-tick-tick” and ends with an explosive descending trill.
White-winged Widowbird
Euplectes albonotatus
The breeding male is black with a pale blue bill, brightly-colored shoulder epaulets (chestnut in northeast Africa, yellow elsewhere), and diagnostic white wing panels that are most obvious in flight. The distinctive display is a slow butterfly-like flapping. The non-breeding male is buffy and streaky, but retains the shoulder epaulets and wing panel. The female lacks the wing pattern and has a pale unstreaked belly. Pairs and flocks are resident with local movements in open savanna, brushy grassland, swamps, and cultivated areas.
Spotless Crake
Zapornia tabuensis
Small dark crake with red eye and red orbital ring. Upperparts dark brown, underparts blue-gray, with red legs and short black bill. Inhabits wetlands where there is dense vegetation surrounding the water. Quite skittish and often difficult to observe. A wide variety of calls include a slow, repeated "kek" and a bubbling, accelerating "motorboat" call.
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