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Brown-capped Rosy-Finch

Leucosticte australisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Finches (Fringillidae)

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch Breeding Male Portrait
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General

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: Medium-sized finch, pink-red overall with black forehead and brown head, breast, and back. Bill is black in summer and yellow with black tip in winter. Female and juvenile lack pink on shoulders and rumps.

Range and Habitat

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: Resident in the Rocky Mountains from Wyoming to New Mexico; descends to lower elevations near breeding areas in winter. Lives in alpine tundra and meadows; winters in nearby lowlands.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"peyt-a-weet", "chew", "peent"

Interesting Facts

 The population of the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch is declining according to the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Data seem to indicate a steady decline over the last 30 years with average annual total counts of over a thousand in the 1970's compared to about 500 in the 1990's.

 No other North American species from the Mexican border up breeds at as high an elevation; they will stay in these areas even in chilling -35 C winters as long as snow depth does not obscure their food sources.

 Rocky Mountain National Park is thought to support a breeding population of 1,000-2,000 Brown-capped Rosy-Finches.

 A group of rosy-finches are collectively known as a "bouquet" of finches.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
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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.
Family Buntings, Finches, Sparrows (Emberizidae)_blue
Species Leucosticte australis
Length5.7 - 6.5 Inches
Wingspan9.5 Inches

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: Medium finch, pink-red overall with black forehead, brown head, breast, back. Black bill in summer, yellow with black tip in winter. Forages on ground, eats seeds, sometimes insects. Swift bouncy flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "peyt-a-weet", "chew", "peent"

● Foraging & Feeding: Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: Eats mostly seeds, but takes some insects in summer; forages on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: Three to five white eggs are laid in a nest made of moss, grass, weeds, and rootlets, lined with fur and feathers, and built on a cliff ridge, rock crevice, cave, or under a building eave. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: Gray crowned Rosy-Finch and Black Rosy-Finch have gray head patches.

Flight Pattern

Swift rather bouncy flight with rapid wing beats with brief periods of wings pulled to sides.
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: Resident in the Rocky Mountains from Wyoming to New Mexico; descends to lower elevations near breeding areas in winter. Lives in alpine tundra and meadows; winters in nearby lowlands.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.9 Ounces