Rosefinches galore

Perhaps my favorite birds from my recent Asia trips have been rosefinches. They are beautiful, cooperative, diverse and are often a challenge to identify. There are probably more species than currently recognized--for example the The Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (Rasmussen and Anderton 2005, Smithsonian and Lynx Edicions) splits the Himalayan and Chinese forms of both White-browed and Beautiful Rosefinches. The respective forms of both species were the most commonly seen rosefinches on my Bhutan and Sichuan trips this spring.

Below are a number of rosefinch photos from Sichuan; click on the photo to see a larger image. All photos were digiscoped with a Canon Powershot S-80 through a Swarovski AT-80 scope.

This strange rosefinch was photographed in the scrub above the town at the entrance to Jiuzhaigou National Park, at an elevation of about 2000m. It was about the size of a White-browed Rosefinch (see my photo of White-browed here) and had white outer tail feathers.

Male Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch at Zhegu Mountain, near Hongyuan. It was part of a flock of about 30 rosefinches (including the Streaked Rosefinches below) feeding on the road after the snow began to melt.

Three photos of Streaked Rosefinches (males above, female on the right), taken in the same flock as the Beautiful Rosefinch above. Note the female White-browed Rosefinch in the background of the photo on the right.

Three-banded Rosefinches (male on left, female on right) at Zhegu Mountain. A brief video of the male can be seen here.


This female Vinaceous Rosefinch was at the base of Emei Shan at 760m, the lowest elevation I saw any rosefinch. It was part of a flock of three, one male and two females.