White-winged snowfinch

Montifringilla nivalis

The white-winged snowfinch, or snowfinch, is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is a sparrow rather than a true finch.
Rock sparrow  Birds,Iran,Montifringilla nivalis,White-winged snowfinch

Appearance

The white-winged snowfinch is a large stocky snowfinch at 16.5–19 centimetres in length. It has brown upperparts, white underparts and a grey head. There is a long narrow white wing panel. In summer, the bill is black, and there is a black bib. The bib is lost in winter and the bill becomes yellow. Sexes are similar.

In flight, it shows black wings with huge white wing panels, and a white edged black tail. This bird has a chattering song with many trills, and variety of rolling or creaky calls.
White-winged snowfinch  Birds,Iran,Montifringilla nivalis,Mountains,Sparrow,White-winged snowfinch,passerine

Distribution

It is a resident breeding species on bare mountains, typically above 1,500 metres, across southern Europe and through central Asia to western China. It nests in crevices or rodent burrows, laying 3–4 eggs.

Behavior

The white-winged snowfinch's food is mainly seeds with some insects. It is fearless, and will forage around ski resorts. It is hardy, and rarely descends below 1,000 metres even in hard winter weather.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyPasseridae
GenusMontifringilla
SpeciesM. nivalis
Photographed in
Iran