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Red-headed Bullfinch - BirdForum Opus

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Male
Photo by robinm
Bhutan, April 2008
Pyrrhula erythrocephala

Identification

Photo by Vadim
Mustang, Nepal, June 2017

17 cm (6¾ in). A medium-large bullfinch with a short, curved bill and a long, notched tail.

  • Reddish or yellowish nape
  • Grey-brown mantle (more olive or ochraceous in shorter-tailed female Orange Bullfinch)
  • Black mask diffusely bordered with white
  • White rump patch (not bordered above by black)
  • Glossier blue-black wings and tail than Grey-headed Bullfinch
  • Male with bright orange crown, hindneck and breast (more bronzy in subadult males)
  • Female with greenish-yellow crown and hindneck and grey underparts

Juveniles like females but tawny-brown overall and with no black on forehead and less on face

Distribution

Found in the Himalayas from southeast Kashmir east to Nepal, Bhutan, northeast India and southeast Tibet.
Common or locally common. Erratic occurence.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.

Habitat

Found in submontane and lower montane conifer forest and open mixed deciduous and conifer forests.
Occurs at 2400-4200 m, lower down in non-breeding season.

Behaviour

Usually seen in pairs or small, often single-sex flocks, in non-breeding season in larger flocks of 20 to 30 birds, sometimes more. A rather lethargic species, spending long times in on place.

Diet

Feeds on seeds. Takes also buds, willow catkings, berries, nectar and some arthropods.
Forages low in vegetation and bushes or on the ground.

Breeding

Breeding season from May to August. The nest is a cup made of plant fibres, twigs, roots and lichen. It's placed up to 3 m above the ground in a small tree. Lays 3-4 eggs.

Movements

A resident species with some altitudinal movements. Descends to lower levels of breeding range in non-breeding season.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2014)

Recommended Citation

External Links

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