Blyth's Rosefinch
Carpodacus grandis
A relatively large rosefinch with a heavy, pale bill. The male has a mottled-pink eyebrow and cheeks and dull pink underparts. The female is brownish overall with strong streaking and a pale, lightly streaked supercilium. Best told apart from other similar rosefinches by the combination of large size, large bill, and relatively short wings and tail. Feeds on the ground. Found in high montane regions in conifer forests, or above treeline. In winter, descends to gardens and groves.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Carpodacus grandis
- Authority
- Blyth, 1849
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Carpodacus
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- PAL : sc Palearctic in Pamirs and Karakoram mts., in montane forest and alpine meadows: n Afghanistan and Tajikistan, n Pakistan, Ladakh and ne Himachal Pradesh (far nw India)
- Non-breeding range
- to lower elevation gardens, orchards
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Sooty Honeyeater
Melionyx fuscus
A long, slender honeyeater of upper montane forest and shrubland. All black with a long tail, long, thin, slightly curved bill and a blue eye-ring with a small red spot behind. Forages singly at all levels in the vegetation and often cocks its tail. Similar to Short-bearded and Long-bearded Honeyeaters, but Sooty Melidectes is smaller and lacks the white beard. Call, harsh rasping notes.
Large Scimitar-Babbler
Erythrogenys hypoleucos
A handsome and slightly primal-looking babbler of wooded areas, thick fields, and bamboo tangles, wherever there is extensive cover. Angular chestnut crescent behind the ear, combined with the smattering of silver spots behind it, a white throat, and dark eyes, is unique. Forages on the ground and in the understory, usually in pairs or small flocks; does not usually form large flocks as do many other scimitar-babblers. Listen for its echoing hoots, often given in duets.
Rufous-browed Hemispingus
Poospiza rufosuperciliaris
Scarce bird of wet high-elevation forest in the eastern Andes of northern and central Peru. Not often seen, since its remaining habitat is difficult to access. Plumage is striking, with reddish-orange eyebrow and underparts as well as a black mask. Similar to Rufous-breasted Warbling-Finch of the western Andes, but eyebrows are longer and do not connect over the bill. It tends to stay very low, which can make it quite hard to see well, and it often hops on the ground or along fallen logs. Sometimes joins mixed-species flocks. Typical song is a lengthy series of seemingly random squeaks and chips.
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