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Grey-crowned Rosy-finch
last update: Apr 01, 2009 10:31 AM
Latin name: Leucosticte tephrocotis
Population: 50,000-500,000 individuals
Cites classified: Least Concern
Where found: Northern Pacific coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands through central and south Alaska down into Yukon and British Columbia, Canada
Age/ life expectancy: 6 years
Wingspan: 32-37 cm
Length: 14-18 cm
Weight: 20-25 g
Mating/Breeding: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches are monogamous. They nest in rock crevices, along cliff ledges, and under overhanging rocks. Typically, the nest is totally hidden from view. Although both sexes collect nesting material, only the female builds the nest, a bulky cup of grass, rootlets, lichen, moss, and sedge, lined with fine grass, hair, and feathers. The female typically incubates 2 to 6 eggs for about 14 days. Both parents feed the young, which leave the nest after 15 to 22 days and follow their parents to forage. The young are fed by their parents for two to three weeks after fledging.
Eggs: 2-6 white or cream eggs
Hibernation: Central Alaskan and Canadian birds migrate as far south as northern California in the winter
Hunting Habits: forages for seeds but catches insects in the air and off vegetation
Feed on: mainly seeds, but also insects and buds
Predators: hawks and other raptors
Colour/Body: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches are medium-to-large finches with long wings and tails. The heads are almost entirely gray with black forecrowns, and bodies are dark brown with a rose-colored wash, especially on the wings. Flight feathers appear pale from below, and this 'frosted' appearance of the underwings helps identify Rosy-Finches as they fly about mountain cliffs. Juveniles look quite different from adults, with light gray to gray brown bodies, no black forecrowns, and no rosy wash. Juveniles also have creamy-buff wing-bars and patches.
Interesting Trivia:
- Perhaps because of its remote breeding sites, which allow little contact with humans, the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch seems almost fearless. On its breeding grounds, foraging birds can be approached to within 1-2 meters.
