From Opus

Photo by Nick Richter
Sandia Crest, New Mexico, November 2005

Leucosticte atrata

[edit] Identification

L 6" (15 cm)
Male

• Black on back, neck, breast, and face.
• Gray head band
• Shows extensive pink on wings and belly

Female

• Blackish gray
• Little amounts of pink

[edit] Distribution

Idaho and Montana to Nevada and Utah; winters south to Arizona. Accidental vagrant to California.

[edit] Taxonomy

This species is monotypic.^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Open mountainous tundra, rocky or grassy areas, near glaciers and snowfields. It winters in farmland, beside roads, and amongst buildings.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

They nest on cliffs. The nest is made of grasses and moss, occasionally feathers mixed with grass and animal hair. The clutch consits of 4-5 eggs.

[edit] Diet

The winter diet consists of grass and weed seeds; in summer it includes insects.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Audobon2.com

• List of references

[edit] External Links