Himalayan Beautiful Rosefinch
Carpodacus pulcherrimus
A rather dark and heavily marked rosefinch. Male is dark rosy-pink below and dark, streaky brown above with a dark pink brow. Female is brown and streaky with underparts streaking extending from the throat (where the streaks are extremely fine) to the belly (where the streaks are heavier and longer). Females also have a faint pale brow, but it is weak and not always noticeable; note the far more contrasting brow of Chinese and Himalayan White-browed Rosefinches. Inhabits montane and hilly scrub, forest edges, and village outskirts. Gives twitters and trills. The extremely similar Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch gives sharper and more metallic call notes than the Himalayan Beautiful Rosefinch.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Carpodacus pulcherrimus
- Authority
- (Moore, F, 1856)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Carpodacus
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- OR, PAL : sc, ec Palearctic in Himalayas, Tibetan and Mongolian plateaus, in montane scrub and forest edge: Himachal Pradesh (nw India) and sw, s, se Tibet n through Mongolia and Sichuan, in s to w Arunachal Pradesh and nw Yunnan (wc China)
- Non-breeding range
- to lower elevations
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Phylloscartes ceciliae
Small flycatcher with a long tail, which is often held cocked. Has an olive back and whitish underparts. Note the two yellow wingbars and the white eyebrow. A range-restricted species found in a few higher-elevation forest fragments, where it forages in the subcanopy and often accompanies mixed-species flocks. The song is a fast series of high “dju” notes.
Papuan Thornbill
Acanthiza murina
A small bird of upper montane and subalpine forest canopy and bushes. Dull brown upperparts, whitish underparts and yellowish tinged head, neck and upper chest. Note the white, beady eye, grizzled cheek and relatively short bill. Forages very actively and constantly, often in mixed flocks with Large and Papuan Scrubwrens. Similar to Brown-breasted Gerygone, but Papuan Thornbill is more common higher up and avoids more open habitats. Voice, various high-pitch chips and squeaks.
Golden-tailed Sapphire
Chrysuronia oenone
Small hummingbird of humid lowlands. Males are iridescent green with bluish face and rich reddish golden rump and tail; females are similar but lack the blue face and are paler gray below. Usually found around forest edges and oxbow lakes; often one of the most common hummingbirds at feeders in their range.
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