Pink-rumped Rosefinch Carpodacus waltoni occurs eastern Tibetan Plateau in eastern Tibet, southeast Qinghai, and western Sichuan; winter only in northwest Yunnan. HABITAT & BEHAVIOR Scrubby mountainsides, often among rhododendron, between 3600-4950 m (11,810-16,240 ft.). In winter lower, often around cultivated fields and sometimes in flocks containing Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch C. davidianus. ID & COMPARISON Male base color bright pink; rump and vent whitish-pink. Crown, nape and back streaked brownish-black and grey. Supercilium deep red anteriorly, broadening and fading to pink posteriorly. Eyestripe brown. Pink cheeks and supercilium often with white frosting. Face otherwise crimson, fading to pink on throat and breast, fading still more to off-white on belly. Flanks buff-brown with streaking, undertail coverts also streaked. Female buff-brown from crown to upperparts with light brown streaking on crown and heavier black streaking on upperparts. Has short, buffish supercilium and light-brown tips to tertials and wing coverts. Face grey-brown, with thin brown streaks on face; grey-brown on throat and breast, with broader brown streaking; flanks weakly streaked. Off-white, almost unstreaked belly; undertail coverts streaked. Similar to Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch, but slightly smaller and with slightly shorter tail and more slender bill. Male is more uniform whitish-pink below (lacking buff-brown hue to flanks), and pinker on upperparts as well as on rump. Male also similar to Chinese White-browed Rosefinch C. dubius and Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch C. thura, but those are larger and more uniformly brown on crown and upperparts, with less obvious streaking. Pink-browed Rosefinch C. rodochroa has brighter forehead. Female has more obvious streaking on rump than Chinese Beautiful, and may have less contrasting dark ear coverts and pale supercilium. BARE PARTS Bill brown-horn; feet pale brown. VOICE Most common call a dry, metallic trill, reminiscent of Yellowhammer and Pine Bunting. — Craig Brelsford
THE ROSEFINCHES OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com covers all species in the genus Carpodacus in China. Click any link:
Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus
Scarlet Finch C. sipahi
Streaked Rosefinch C. rubicilloides
Great Rosefinch C. rubicilla
Red-mantled Rosefinch C. rhodochlamys
Himalayan Beautiful Rosefinch C. pulcherrimus
Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch C. davidianus
Pink-rumped Rosefinch C. waltoni
Pink-browed Rosefinch C. rodochroa
Dark-rumped Rosefinch C. edwardsii
Spot-winged Rosefinch C. rodopeplus
Sharpe’s Rosefinch C. verreauxii
Vinaceous Rosefinch C. vinaceus
Pale Rosefinch C. synoicus
Tibetan Rosefinch C. roborowskii
Sillem’s Rosefinch C. sillemi
Siberian Long-tailed Rosefinch C. sibiricus
Chinese Long-tailed Rosefinch C. lepidus
Pallas’s Rosefinch C. roseus
Three-banded Rosefinch C. trifasciatus
Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch C. thura
Chinese White-browed Rosefinch C. dubius
Red-fronted Rosefinch C. puniceus
Crimson-browed Finch C. subhimachalus
See also:
Taiwan Rosefinch Carpodacus formosanus
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
