Spotted bullfinch
| Spotted bullfinch | ||||||||||||
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Spotted bullfinch ( Carpodacus rhodopeplus ) |
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| Carpodacus rhodopeplus | ||||||||||||
| ( Vigors , 1831) |
The bullfinch ( Carpodacus rhodopeplus , syn .: C. rodopepla , C. rodopeplus ) is a songbird from the finch family . It occurs - presumably with gaps - from the Himalayas to western China. It is found in shrubs and bushes on slopes and in alpine grassland during the breeding season, and in mixed and bamboo forests in winter.
The spotted bullfinch was described as Fringilla rodopepla in 1831 . Some authors still use the original epithet rodopepla . Others use the declined and orthographically corrected form rhodopeplus , according to the generic name Carpodacus , but rodopeplus can also be found from time to time.
description
Appearance
With a body length of 15 cm, the spotted bullfinch is about the size of a chaffinch . It resembles the Burgundy bullfinch but can be distinguished from it by the paler underside and the eponymous "spots" - which are formed by light tips or fields on the outer flags of shoulder feathers, arm covers and umbrella feathers. The wing length of the nominate form is 82–90 mm, the tail length 67–74 mm. In the smaller subspecies C. r. verreauxi , the wing length of the male is between 73 and 76 mm. The 14–15 mm long beak is quite strong and pointed, dark brown above and lighter below. The feet are brown or pale horn brown.
As with all species of the genus, the sexes differ in the plumage color. In the male, the upper head, neck and parts of the sides of the neck are dark wine-red. The wide, pale pink stripe above the eyes begins above the reins and only ends on the sides of the neck. It is interspersed with white feather tips. The reins, cheeks and ear covers are very dark wine-red, the beard, chin and throat are pink-red with light tips on the throat and dark shaft stripes in the area of the beard. The pink coloration continues on the underside, but is usually darker in the nominate form and overlaid or interspersed with reddish brown on the flanks and towards the under tail coverts. The latter also show dark red nuances. The back and shoulder feathers are wine-red like the top of the head, but show dark stripes and broad, light pink hems on the outer flags of the lower, inner shoulder feathers. The rump is interspersed with pink feather tips and the upper tail covers wine-red. The arm covers are black-brown with dark reddish seams and pink spots on the tip. The wing, coverts and wing feathers are blackish with fine dark reddish borders, the umbrella feathers also have pale pink to whitish fields at the end of the outer flag. The slightly forked tail is dark brown with dark reddish borders.
In females, the upper head, neck, back and shoulder feathers are warm brown with dark stripes and lighter hems on the neck and back. The rump and the upper tail-coverts are solid brown to pale brown. The stripe above the eyes is extensive and cream-colored to beige, the reins, cheeks and ear covers are black-brown. The beard, throat and chin are beige and finely dashed. The underside is pale brown to warm beige-brown and dark dashed on the chest. This drawing becomes less strong on the sides of the chest and the belly and much finer on the belly and the flanks. The under tail-coverts are beige-brown. Wing and rudder feathers are similar to those of the male, but the edges are more brownish and the light tips and fields of the outer flags are more beige.
The youth dress is indistinguishable from that of the female.
You can often see the bullfinch sitting free on bushes, but it is quite shy.
voice
The spotted bullfinch is not very vocal. Occasionally a far-reaching, canary-like chirping can be heard. The singing is unknown.
Distribution and geographic variation
The spotted bullfinch colonizes parts of the Himalayas and can be found in western China. The subspecies C. r. verreauxi is slightly smaller than the nominate form. The males are a little lighter, the pink of the rump is paler and the underside is a little lighter and uniformly pink. The females do not differ.
- C. r. rhodopeplus ( Vigors , 1831) - Himalayas, from Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh eastwards through central Nepal to Sikkim and the extreme south of Tibet
- C. r. verreauxi ( David & Oustalet , 1877) - western and northern to central Sichuan , south to northern Yunnan
The spotted bullfinch is rare and only common locally. He's not threatened.
Way of life
The spotted bullfinch lives at heights of 3000 to 4600 m during the breeding season, in winter it descends to heights between 2000 and 3050 m. The verreauxi subspecies is found in northern Myanmar as a winter guest.
During the breeding season, the habitat consists of rhododendrons and bushes on slopes and alpine meadows; in winter the species can be found in bushes, bamboo and mixed forests. Little is known about breeding biology and nutrition, but it has been observed that various smaller seeds are picked up from the ground.
literature
- P. Clement, A. Harris, J. Davis: Finches and Sparrows , Helm Identification Guides, London 1993/1999, ISBN 0-7136-5203-9
Web links
- Carpodacus rodopeplus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Accessed on March 30 of 2010.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Carpodacus rhodopeplus in the Internet Bird Collection
- Photos of Carpodacus rhodopeplus in the Oriental Bird Club image database , accessed March 30, 2010