Black Rosy-Finch

Leucosticte atrataOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Finches (Fringillidae)

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Black Rosy-Finch

Black Rosy-Finch: Medium finch with black-brown breast and back, and gray headband. Belly, rump, and wing patches are pink mixed with brown. Forages on ground and in shrubs, grasses and snowfields. Eats seeds and insects. Swift bounding flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "cheep-cheep-cheep"

● Foraging & Feeding: Black Rosy-Finch: Feeds on insects and other invertebrates in spring and summer; in the fall and winter, seeds and other plant parts make up the diet.

● Breeding & nesting: Black Rosy-Finch: Four to five white eggs are laid in a cup nest built in a hole in a vertical cliff. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Black Rosy-Finch: Other rosy finches show brown in plumage.

Flight Pattern

Swift bounding flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Black Rosy-Finch: Breeds in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to northern Nevada and Utah; spends winters south to northern Arizona and New Mexico. Preferred habitats include alpine tundra and meadows; during winter is found in nearby lowlands.

^BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies

^PopulationUncommon and local

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.9 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Black Rosy-Finch

Black Rosy-Finch

Flight Pattern