Gray-crowned Rosy Finch
Encyclopedia
The Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, or Gray-crowned Rosy-finch, (Leucosticte tephrocotis) is a species of passerine
bird
in the family Fringillidae native to Alaska
, western Canada
, and the north-western United States
. Due to its remote and rocky alpine
habitat it is rarely seen. There are currently six recognized subspecies. It is one of four species of rosy-finches.
with three other Rosy Finches
(also known as mountain finch): Black Rosy Finch
(L. atrata) and the Brown-capped Rosy Finch
(L. australis), all of which were classified as the same species as the Asian Rosy Finch
(L. arctoa) from 1983-1993. Recent mitochondrial DNA evidence shows the rosy finches are all indeed very closely related and can be easily confused with one another. Along with four Asian rosy finches, the three North American rosy finches form the mountain finch
genus Leucosticte. Alternate common names include: Roselin à tête grise (in French), Schwarzstirn-Schneegimpel (in German), and Pinzón Montano Nuquigrí (in Spanish).
and American Rockies
and migrate
south to the western United States
. L. t. tephrocotis summers from Montana to the Yukon, while littoralis breeds closer to the coast, from northern California to west-central Alaska. Due to its remote habitat, few of its nests have been found, it is rarely spotted, and the population is stable. They are invariably found amongst rocks. The areas the subspecies breed in rarely overlap during breeding season. Males typically outnumber females throughout the year.
to the northwestern United States
. These mountain breeding areas tend to be snowfields and rocky scree
. When not breeding they form large flocks of over 1000 individuals which are sometimes known to include Snow Bunting
s (P. nivalis), Lapland Longspurs (C. lapponicus), and Horned Larks (E. alpestris), as well as other rosy-finch species. They descend in flocks as far as the fringes of the western plains beginning in autumn when the snows get deep. They return to alpine regions when snow is still deep in early spring. They may breed at a higher altitude than any other breeding bird in North America. Due to these extreme breeding altitudes, they are very difficult to observe during breeding times. They build a cup nest in mid-June at a sheltered, hidden location on the ground or on a cliff and are monogamous. They are known to use protected areas such as mine shafts and abandoned buildings for nesting. Both sexes collect the nesting material of grass, roots, lichen, moss, and sedge, but only the female builds the nest. Lining material consists of fine grass, hair, and feathers. Females lay 3-5 eggs which she incubates for approximately two weeks. Both sexes feed the chicks, which leave the nest after 2-3 weeks. Chicks continue to be fed by their parents for about two weeks after leaving the nest in late July or early August. A male will defend its female's territory during breeding season, not just the nest but where ever she goes. This behavior is common with the rosy finches.
These birds forage on the ground; many fly to catch insects in flight. During the summer they mainly eat insects, such as cutworm
s, that were caught in updrafts and frozen in snowfields. They also feed in the meadows near snowfields. In the winter they eat seeds from weeds and grasses such as Russian thistle
(E. exaltatus), mustard
, and sunflower
(H. annuus). When breeding, both males and females develop throat pouches, known as gular pouches or gular skin
, to carry food to their chicks, a trait seen in only one other North American genus, Pinicola
. The three subspecies that live in mountain interiors have brown cheeks instead of gray cheeks. They show little fear of humans. They often feed in small flocks. Their call is a buzz-sounding "chew". They can be approached to within 1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft).
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the family Fringillidae native to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, western Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the north-western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Due to its remote and rocky alpine
Alpine
The term alpine refers to the Alps, a European mountain range.Alpine may also refer to:- Geography and geology :* Alpine tundra, the biological community that occurs above the tree line at high altitude...
habitat it is rarely seen. There are currently six recognized subspecies. It is one of four species of rosy-finches.
Taxonomy
The Gray-crowned Rosy Finch was first classified by English ornithologist William John Swainson in 1832. This bird has been thought to form a superspeciesSuperspecies
A superspecies is a group of at least two more or less distinctive species with approximately parapatric distributions. Not all species complexes, whether cryptices or ring species are superspecies, and vice versa, but many are...
with three other Rosy Finches
Mountain finch
The mountain finches are birds in the genus Leucosticte from the true finch family, Fringillidae. This genus also includes the rosy finches, named from their pinkish plumage...
(also known as mountain finch): Black Rosy Finch
Black Rosy Finch
The Black Rosy Finch, or Black Rosy-finch, is a species of passerine bird in the family Fringillidae native to the western United States.-Taxonomy:...
(L. atrata) and the Brown-capped Rosy Finch
Brown-capped Rosy Finch
The Brown-capped Rosy Finch , Leucosticte australis, is a medium-sized finch.Adults are brown on the head, back, and breast with pink on the belly, rump, and wings. The forehead is black. They have short black legs and a long forked tail.Their breeding habitat is mountain peaks in the central Rocky...
(L. australis), all of which were classified as the same species as the Asian Rosy Finch
Asian Rosy Finch
The Asian Rosy-Finch is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family.It is found in China, Japan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Russia.Its natural habitats are tundra and temperate grassland.-References:...
(L. arctoa) from 1983-1993. Recent mitochondrial DNA evidence shows the rosy finches are all indeed very closely related and can be easily confused with one another. Along with four Asian rosy finches, the three North American rosy finches form the mountain finch
Mountain finch
The mountain finches are birds in the genus Leucosticte from the true finch family, Fringillidae. This genus also includes the rosy finches, named from their pinkish plumage...
genus Leucosticte. Alternate common names include: Roselin à tête grise (in French), Schwarzstirn-Schneegimpel (in German), and Pinzón Montano Nuquigrí (in Spanish).
Subspecies
Six subspecies of the Gray-crowned Rosy Finch are now recognized, though proposals for additional subspecies have been recognized.- L. t. griseonucha (J. F. BrandtJohann Friedrich von BrandtJohann Friedrich von Brandt was a German naturalist.Brandt was born in Jüterbog and educated at a gymnasium in Wittenberg and the University of Berlin. In 1831 he was appointed director of the Zoological Department at the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences, where he published in Russian...
, 1842) Commander Island, and Aleutian Islands (including Shumagin Islandand Semidi Island) east to Alaskan Peninsula; non-breeding south to Kodiak Island. - L. t. umbrina MurieMurieMurie is the name of a famed American family of naturalists, brothers Olaus and Adolph , and their wives Margaret "Mardy" and Louise ....
, 1944 Hall Island, St. Matthew Island and Pribilof IslandsPribilof IslandsThe Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberia coast is roughly northwest...
, in Bering Sea. - L. t. littoralis S. F. BairdSpencer Fullerton BairdSpencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
, 1869 also known as “Hepburn’s Rosy-Finch,” “Gray-headed Rosy-Finch”, "Gray-cheeked Rosy-Finch"), breeds in south-central Alaska east to western Canada (SW Yukon, NW British Columbia) and western United States from Washington and Oregon (along Cascade Mountains) to northern California (Mt Shasta); winters in southern section of breeding range East to central Montana, western Nevada, northern Utah and central New Mexico. - L. t. tephrocotis (Swainson, 1832) also known as "Brown-cheeked Rosy-Finch", breeds northern & central Alaska east to northwest Canada (central Yukon, British Columbia, western Alberta) and northwest United States (northwest Montana); winters from southern British Columbia east to southwest Saskatchewan and South Dakota, south to northeast California, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado and northern New Mexico.
- L. t. wallowa A. H. Miller, 1939 breeds northeast Oregon (Wallowa Mts); winters South to west-central Nevada and central-east California.
- L. t. dawsoni J. GrinnellJoseph GrinnellJoseph Grinnell was a field biologist and zoologist. He made extensive studies of the fauna of California, and is credited with introducing a method of recording precise field observations known as the Grinnell System...
, 1913 eastern California (Sierra Nevada and White Mts).
Description
Within the finch family, the Gray-crowned Rosy Finch is medium-large with a comparatively long notched tail and wing. Adults are brown on the back and breast and mainly pink on the rest of the underparts and the wings. The forehead and throat are black; the back of the head is grey. They have short black legs and a long forked tail. There is some variability in the amount of grey on the head. Adult females and juveniles are similar. Overall length is 140 to 160 mm (5.5 to 6.3 in), wingspan 33 mm (1.3 in), and weight 22 to 26 g (0.776027166312463 to 0.917123014732911 oz). L. t. wallowa has an almost entirely gray head. The Pribilof and Aleutian subspecies have a length of 170 to 210 mm (6.7 to 8.3 in) and weight of 42 to 60 g (1.5 to 2.1 oz), about twice the size of the other subspecies. The Black Rosy Finch has a black instead of brown body and the Brown-capped Rosy Finch is a lighter brown and lacks the gray face patch.Distribution and habitat
The ancestor of the three species of North American rosy finches migrated from Asia. All rosy finches live in an alpine or tundra environment. The Gray-crowned Rosy Finch has a wide range and large numbers throughout Alaska, and western Canada and the United States. L. t. griseonucha permanently resides in the Aleutian Islands and umbrina on the Pribilof Islands. A small number of Gray-crowned Rosy Finches winters on the mainland in South-Cenral Alaska and visits feeders there. The other taxa: littoralis, tephrocotis, wallowa, and dawsoni are found from the CanadianCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and American Rockies
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
and migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
south to the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. L. t. tephrocotis summers from Montana to the Yukon, while littoralis breeds closer to the coast, from northern California to west-central Alaska. Due to its remote habitat, few of its nests have been found, it is rarely spotted, and the population is stable. They are invariably found amongst rocks. The areas the subspecies breed in rarely overlap during breeding season. Males typically outnumber females throughout the year.
Behavior
Rosy finches are very environment-specific. In the summer their breeding habitat is rocky islands and barren areas on mountains from AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to the northwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. These mountain breeding areas tend to be snowfields and rocky scree
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
. When not breeding they form large flocks of over 1000 individuals which are sometimes known to include Snow Bunting
Snow Bunting
The Snow Bunting , sometimes colloquially called a snowflake, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is an arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere...
s (P. nivalis), Lapland Longspurs (C. lapponicus), and Horned Larks (E. alpestris), as well as other rosy-finch species. They descend in flocks as far as the fringes of the western plains beginning in autumn when the snows get deep. They return to alpine regions when snow is still deep in early spring. They may breed at a higher altitude than any other breeding bird in North America. Due to these extreme breeding altitudes, they are very difficult to observe during breeding times. They build a cup nest in mid-June at a sheltered, hidden location on the ground or on a cliff and are monogamous. They are known to use protected areas such as mine shafts and abandoned buildings for nesting. Both sexes collect the nesting material of grass, roots, lichen, moss, and sedge, but only the female builds the nest. Lining material consists of fine grass, hair, and feathers. Females lay 3-5 eggs which she incubates for approximately two weeks. Both sexes feed the chicks, which leave the nest after 2-3 weeks. Chicks continue to be fed by their parents for about two weeks after leaving the nest in late July or early August. A male will defend its female's territory during breeding season, not just the nest but where ever she goes. This behavior is common with the rosy finches.
These birds forage on the ground; many fly to catch insects in flight. During the summer they mainly eat insects, such as cutworm
Cutworm
Cutworms are not worms, biologically speaking, but caterpillars; they are moth larvae that hide under litter or soil during the day, coming out in the dark to feed on plants...
s, that were caught in updrafts and frozen in snowfields. They also feed in the meadows near snowfields. In the winter they eat seeds from weeds and grasses such as Russian thistle
Echinops exaltatus
Echinops exaltatus or Russian Globe Thistle is a species of globe thistle. It has escaped cultivation in eastern Canada and in Washington state, USA. It is the largest of all Globe Thistles....
(E. exaltatus), mustard
Mustard plant
Mustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard or prepared mustard...
, and sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
(H. annuus). When breeding, both males and females develop throat pouches, known as gular pouches or gular skin
Gular skin
Gular skin , in ornithology, is an area of featherless skin on birds that joins the lower mandible of the beak to the bird's neck....
, to carry food to their chicks, a trait seen in only one other North American genus, Pinicola
Pinicola
Pinicola is a possibly monotypic genus of "grosbeaks" of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is closely related to the true bullfinches and the Holarctic mountain finches .This genus contains at most two species:...
. The three subspecies that live in mountain interiors have brown cheeks instead of gray cheeks. They show little fear of humans. They often feed in small flocks. Their call is a buzz-sounding "chew". They can be approached to within 1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft).
Book
- MacDougall-Shackleton, S. A., R. E. Johnson, and T. P. Hahn. 2000. Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis). In The Birds of North America, No. 559 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Articles
- Airola DA. (1981). Recent Colonization of Lassen Peak California USA by the Gray-Crowned Rosy Finch Leucosticte-Tephrocotis. Western Birds. vol 12, no 3. pp. 117–124.
- Arbogast MR. (1974). Gray-Crowned Rosy Finch Hepburns Form at Aberdeen. South Dakota Bird Notes. vol 26, no 1.
- Behle WH. (1973). Further Notes on Rosy Finches Wintering in Utah. Wilson Bulletin. vol 85, no 3. pp. 344–346.
- Helmin GA & Helmin GE. (1973). 4th Minnesota Observation in 80 Years. Loon. vol 45, no 1.
- Hukkanen RR, Richardson M, Wingfield JC, Treuting P & Brabb T. (2003). Avipox sp. in a colony of gray-crowned rosy finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis). Comparative Medicine. vol 53, no 5. pp. 548–552.
- Johnson RE. (1975). New Breeding Localities for Leucosticte in the Contiguous Western USA. Auk. vol 92, no 3. pp. 586–589.
- Johnson RE. (1977). Seasonal Variation in the Genus Leucosticte in North America. Condor. vol 79, no 1. pp. 76–86.
- Ludwig F. (1974). Minnesotas 3rd Gray-Crowned Rosy Finch. Loon. vol 46, no 2.
- MacDougall-Shackleton SA & Hahn TP. (1999). Photorefractoriness and the evolution of reproductive flexibility in cardueline finches. American Zoologist. vol 39, no 5.
- MacDougall-Shackleton SA, Katti M & Hahn TP. (2006). Tests of absolute photorefractoriness in four species of cardueline finch that differ in reproductive schedule. Journal of Experimental Biology. vol 209, no 19. pp. 3786–3794.
- Mundinger PC. (1979). Call Learning in the Carduelinae Ethological and Systematic Considerations. Systematic Zoology. vol 28, no 3. pp. 270–283.
- Murphy ME & King JR. (1982). Semi Synthetic Diets as a Tool for Nutritional Ecology. Auk. vol 99, no 1. pp. 165–167.
- Pereyra ME, MacDougall-Shackleton SA, Sharbaugh SM, Morton ML, Katti M & Hahn TP. (2001). Relationships between photorefrac-toriness and reproductive flexibility in cardueline finches. American Zoologist. vol 41, no 6.
- Rising JD. (2001). Geographic variation in size and shape of Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis). Studies in Avian Biology. vol 23, pp. 1–65.
- Shreeve DF. (1980). Behavior of the Aleutian Gray-Crowned Rosy Finches Leucosticte-Tephrocotis-Griseonucha and Brown-Capped Rosy Finches Leucosticte-Tephrocotis-Australis. Ibis. vol 122, no 2. pp. 145–165.
- Shreeve DF. (1980). Differential Mortality in the Sexes of the Aleutian Alaska USA Gray-Crowned Rosy Finch Leucosticte-Tephrocotis-Griseonucha. American Midland Naturalist. vol 104, no 1. pp. 193–197.
- Spicer GS. (1978). A New Species and Several New Host Records of Avian Nasal Mites Acarina Rhinonyssinae Turbinoptinae. Journal of Parasitology. vol 64, no 5. pp. 891–894.
- Yang S-J, Lei F-M & Yin Z-H. (2006). Molecular phylogeny of rosefinches and rose bunting (Passeriformes, Fringillidae, Urocynchramidae). Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica. vol 31, no 3. pp. 453–458.
- Yarbrough CG. (1970). The Development of Endothermy in Nestling Gray-Crowned Rosy Finches Leucosticte-Tephrocotis-Griseonucha. Comparative Biochemistry & Physiology. vol 34, no 4. pp. 917–925.
External links
- Stamps (for CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) with RangeMap - Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch photo gallery VIREO
- Photo-High Res; Article – bird-friends.com - Pictures of "Gray Crowned Rosy Finch"
