Common rosefinch

Common rosefinch
Male in Coonoor,India
Female at Baur reservoir in Uttarakhand, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Carpodacus
Species: C. erythrinus
Binomial name
Carpodacus erythrinus
(Pallas, 1770)
Distribution map
Synonyms

Erythrina erythrina

The common rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) or scarlet rosefinch is the most widespread and common rosefinch of Asia and Europe.

Taxonomy

In a molecular phylogenetic study of the finch family published in 2012, Zuccon and colleagues found that the common rosefinch fell outside the core Carpodacus rosefinch clade and was a sister to the scarlet finch (at the time Haematospiza sipahi). They recommended that the common rosefinch should be moved to a new monotypic genus with the resurrected name of Erythrina.[2] The British Ornithologists' Union accepted this proposal,[3] but the International Ornithological Union chose instead to adopt a more inclusive Carpodacus that retained the common rosefinch in the rosefinch genus.[4]

Description

The common rosefinch is 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) in length.[5] It has a stout and conical bill. The mature male has brilliant rosy-carmine head, breast and rump; heavy bill; dark brown wings with two indistinct bars, and a white belly. Females and young males are dull-colored with yellowish-brown above, brighter on the rump and greyer on head; buff below.

Distribution and habitat

It has spread westward through Europe in recent decades, even breeding in England once. Common rosefinches breed from the Danube valley, Sweden, and Siberia to the Bering Sea; the Caucasus, northern Iran and Afghanistan, the western Himalayas, Tibet and China; to Japan between latitudes 25° and 68°. In winter they are found from southern Iran to south-east China India, Burma, and Indochina.

They are found in summer in thickets, woodland and forest edges near rivers and in winter in gardens and orchards, wetlands and locally in dry oak woods.

Behaviour

A clutch of eggs

The nest is placed low in a bush. The eggs are dark blue with coarse dark brown spots, and a typical clutch contains five eggs.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Carpodacus erythrinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Zuccon, Dario; Prŷs-Jones, Robert; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62 (2): 581–596. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002.
  3. Sangster, George; Collinson, J. Martin; Crochet, Pierre-André; Knox, Alan G.; Parkin, David T.; Votier, Stephen C. (2013). "Taxonomic recommendations for Western Palearctic birds: ninth report". Ibis 155: 898–907. doi:10.1111/ibi.12091.
  4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Finches, euphonias". World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  5. Clement, P.; Christie, D.A. (2014). "Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, Sargatal; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 12 July 2015.(subscription required)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carpodacus erythrinus.


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