Streaked Rosefinch
Carpodacus rubicilloides
Large, bulky rosefinch. Male is pinkish-red below with a streaked brown back. Female is streaky dust-brown all over. Both sexes are very similar to Great Rosefinch; look out for dark streaking on the back in both, as well as smaller white, more solid-looking white spots on the underparts of the male. Breeds in dry open expanses with sparse scrubby vegetation at around 3700-5200 meters. Winters in similar habitat, sometimes descending to lower elevations. Song consists of somewhat hoarse whistled notes. Gives a sparrow-like “chweep” and a shorter “chep.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Carpodacus rubicilloides
- Authority
- Przevalski, 1876
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Carpodacus
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL : sc Palearctic of Karakoram to nc China in arid high-alpine zone: sw, s, se Tibet through Qinghai, Gansu and sw Inner Mongolia (nc China); in s Ladakh and Inner Himalayas through nw Yunnan
- Non-breeding range
- somewhat lower to villages, fields
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Small flycatcher with a long tail often held cocked. Has an olive-brown back, yellow underparts, and two white wingbars. Note the broad white eye-ring “spectacles”. Always found near water, for example in shrubby vegetation at lake edges, and especially on river islands. Forages in the understory. Sings an intermittent series of fast high “pit-chew” notes, often in a duet.
Crossley's Vanga
Mystacornis crossleyi
Brown-backed, babbler-like vanga of the forest understory. Male has a black hood, and female a white throat. Endemic to Madagascar, in eastern rainforest at low and middle elevations. Shy and elusive bird that walks along the forest floor and through thick tangles. Song is a long, penetrating whistle given from a low perch. Coloration and habits make it distinctive.
Sapphire-rumped Parrotlet
Touit purpuratus
Small parrot of lowland rainforest and savanna regions; more common in areas with sandy soils, but rarely seen well. Usually in small flocks that fly rapidly through or above canopy, settling into trees where they essentially disappear. When perched, best identified by small size and combination of blue rump and red outer tail feathers. In flight, gives drawn-out, complaining call note, very unlike calls of other parrots in range. Feeds on fruit.
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