Crimson-winged finch

Crimson-winged finch
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
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 crimson-winged finch (Rhodopechys sanguineus) is a pale-colored thickset finch with a heavy, dull yellowish bill. It is the only species placed in the genus Rhodopechys. It is found in North Africa and from Turkey to northeast Pakistan. The crimson-winged finch has sometimes been split into two species, the African crimson-winged finch and the Asian crimson-winged finch.

Taxnomy

The crimson-winged finch was formally described in 1838 by the English ornithologist John Gould based on a specimen collected at Erzurum in eastern Turkey. He placed the species with the finches in the genus Fringilla and coined the binomial name Fringilla sanguinea. ^{[2] [3]} The specific epithet is Latin meaning "bloody", from sanguis, sanguinis meaning "blood". ^[4] The crimson-winged finch is now the only species placed in the genus Rhodopechys that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis with the crimson-winged finch as the type species. ^{[5] [6]} The genus name is from Ancient Greek ῥοδοπηχυς/rhodopēkhus, ῥοδοπηχυος/rhodopēkhuos meaning "rosy-armed", from ῥοδον/rhodon meaning "rose" and πηχυς/pēkhus, πηχεως/pēkheōs meaning "forear". ^[7]

Two subspecies are recognised: ^[6]

• R. s. sanguineus (Gould, 1838) – Turkey to west China, Tajikistan and Afghanistan
• R. s. alienus Whitaker, 1897 – Morocco, Algeria

The crimson-winged finch has sometimes been split into two species with the subspecies R. s. sanguineus known as the Asian crimson-winged finch and the subspecies R. s. alienus known as the African crimson-winged finch. ^{[6] [8]}

Differences between African and Asian subspecies

There are several differences between Asian and African subspecies:

African subspecies, Oukaimeden, Morocco

• African birds have a rosy-tinged grey-white central chin and throat, with a narrow brown breast-band below it, whereas this whole area is solidly tawny-brown on Asian birds.
• The brown breast and flank markings on Asian birds are more extensive than on African birds.
• African birds have less black on the crown than Asian birds (on males it often tends to be restricted to the forecrown).

Male birds show the following additional differences:

• Asian birds have extensive pink in their uppertail-coverts, which is lacking in African birds (although the latter can show a vinous wash here in fresh plumage).
• Asian birds often have black spotting on their breast-sides; African birds always lack this.
• Asian birds can have distinct black markings on their mantle, but these are much less distinct on African birds.
• Asian birds have on average more distinct black markings on their ear-coverts than African birds.
• Asian birds typically have more extensive red in their face, often in the fore-supercilium (African birds can show red here but it is not the norm).

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. ^[9]

References

1. 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. Gould, John (1837). "A small collection of birds from Erseroum in Persia, recently presented to the Society by Keith E. Abbot Esq., Corr. Mem., was brought before the notices of the meeting". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 5 (59) (published 1838): 126-127 [127].
3. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 263.
4. Jobling, James A. "sanguineus". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
5. Cabanis, Jean (1850–1851). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz (published 1851). p. 157, note.
6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Finches, euphonias". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
7. Jobling, James A. "Rhodopechy". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
8. Kirwan, G.M.; Kirwan, G.M.; Atkinson, P.W.; Berg, A.B.V.D.; Shirihai, H. (2006). "Taxonomy of Crimson-winged finch Rhodopechys sanguineus: a test case for defining species limits between disjunct taxa". Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 13 (2): 136–146. doi: 10.5962/p.309779 .
9. European Commission. Directorate General for Environment.; IUCN.; BirdLife International. (2022). European red list of birds 2021. LU: Publications Office. doi:10.2779/959320.