Asian crimson-winged finch

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Asian crimson-winged finch
Crimson-winged Finch (Rhodopechys sanguineus) (29935889654) (cropped).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Rhodopechys
Species:
R. sanguineus
Binomial name
Rhodopechys sanguineus
(Gould, 1838)

The Asian crimson-winged finch (Rhodopechys sanguineus) is a pale-colored thickset finch with a heavy, dull yellowish bill. It is found from Turkey to NE Pakistan.

Contents

Taxnomy

The African crimson-winged finch was formerly considered conspecific and together known as the crimson-winged finch. [2]

It is a monotypic species, meaning it doesn't have recognised subspecies. [3]

Description

It has an average length of 13 centimetres (5.1 in) and a wingspan of ca. 32 centimetres (13 in). It is light brown overall, with a whitish mid-belly, a black cap and a pinkish pattern on the wings and tail. The female is slightly duller than the male.

Differences between African and Asian birds

There are several differences between Asian crimson-winged finches and African birds:

Male birds show the following additional differences:

Ecology

This species lives on rocky mountainsides, often at high elevation. It can be found in barren landscapes with little vegetation, and sometimes nests in rock crevices. It feeds on seeds, and during the winter descends in flocks to agricultural fields to find food. The female lays and incubates 4 or 5 blue, lightly speckled eggs.

Status

This species has a vast range and a large population, meeting neither range nor population size criteria for threat. While the population trend is unknown, it's not declining rapidly enough to approach vulnerability. Therefore, it's classified as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List. [1]

The population size in Europe is estimated at 107,000-411,000 mature individuals, comprising about 20% of the global range. This suggests a preliminary global population of 535,000-2,060,000 mature individuals, though further assessment is needed. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Rhodopechys sanguineus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22725105A88499273. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22725105A88499273.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Kirwan, Guy M., Phil W. Atkinson, Arnoud B. van den Berg and Hadoram Shirihai (2006) Taxonomy of the Crimson-winged Finch Rhodopechys sanguineus: a test case for defining species limits between disjunct taxa Bulletin of the African Bird Club Vol. 13 No. 2 pages 136-46
  3. Clement, Peter; Christie, David; Kirwan, Guy M. (2025). "Crimson-winged Finch (Rhodopechys sanguineus), version 2.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.crwfin2.02species_shared.bow.project_name. ISSN   2771-3105.
  4. European Commission. Directorate General for Environment.; IUCN.; BirdLife International. (2022). European red list of birds 2021. LU: Publications Office. doi:10.2779/959320.