White-winged Snowfinch
Encyclopedia
The White-winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis), or just Snowfinch, is a small passerine
bird
. Despite its name, it is a sparrow
rather than a true finch
.
and through central Asia
to western China
. It nests in crevices or rodent
burrows, laying 3–4 eggs
.
. In flight, it shows black wings with huge white wing panels, and a white edged black tail. This bird has a chattering song with many trills, and variety of rolling or creaky calls.
s with some insect
s. It is fearless, and will forage around ski resorts. It is hardy, and rarely descends below 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) even in hard winter weather.
. The darkest, M. n. henrici of Tibet
and western China has earth-brown upperparts and crown, and greyer underparts. It is sometimes split as Henri's Snowfinch or Tibetan Snowfinch (M. henrici). However, Tibetan Snowfinch, confusingly, more often refers to the Black-winged Snowfinch
(M. adamsi).
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...
. Despite its name, it is a sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...
rather than a true finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
.
Distribution and habitat
It is a resident breeding species on bare mountains, typically above 1500 metres (4,921.3 ft), across southern EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and through central Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
to western China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It nests in crevices or rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
burrows, laying 3–4 eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
.
Description
White-winged Snowfinch is a large stocky sparrow at 16.5 – in length. It has brown upperparts, white underparts and a grey head. There is a long narrow white wing panel. In summer, the bill is black, and there is a black bib. The bib is lost in winter and the bill becomes yellow. Sexes are similar.. In flight, it shows black wings with huge white wing panels, and a white edged black tail. This bird has a chattering song with many trills, and variety of rolling or creaky calls.
Behaviour
The White-winged Snowfinch's food is mainly seedSeed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s with some insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. It is fearless, and will forage around ski resorts. It is hardy, and rarely descends below 1000 metres (3,280.8 ft) even in hard winter weather.
Taxonomy
There are four subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
. The darkest, M. n. henrici of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and western China has earth-brown upperparts and crown, and greyer underparts. It is sometimes split as Henri's Snowfinch or Tibetan Snowfinch (M. henrici). However, Tibetan Snowfinch, confusingly, more often refers to the Black-winged Snowfinch
Black-winged Snowfinch
The Black-winged Snowfinch, Adams's Snowfinch or Tibetan Snowfinch is a species of bird in the sparrow family. It is found in China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland...
(M. adamsi).