Red-fronted Rosefinch - BirdForum Opus

Photo by James Eaton
Wolong, Sichuan, China, June 2004

Carpodacus puniceus

Identification

Juvenile
Photo by Askar Isabekov
Kazakhstan, Tien Shan, February 2018

20 cm (7¾ in)

• Red forehead, face and throat
• Pinker underparts
• Dusky upperparts
• Curved culmen and ridged lower mandible

Distribution

Asia: found in Turkestan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, China, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Nepal
South Asia: Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, and

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 5 subspecies^[1]:

• C. p. kilianensis:

• Mountains of Kyrgystan and Tajikistan to south-western Xinjiang and north-eastern Ladakh

• C. p. humii:

• Western Himalayas (Pakistan to Kumaon)

• C. p. puniceus:

• Central Himalayas (Nepal to south-eastern Tibet)

• C. p. sikangensis:

• South West China (Minya Konka to Mula region of extreme western Sichuan)

• C. p. longirostris:

• West China (eastern Qinghai to Gansu and north-western Sichuan)

Habitat

Their breeding areas are on montane plateaux, above the tree-line, on steep rocky slopes.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of seeds, buds, flower-heads, petals and berries.

Breeding

They are monogamous and solitary breeders. Their nest is a thick, bulky cup constructed from grass, plant fibres, roots and animal hair.

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. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Feb 2018)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Red-fronted Rosefinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-fronted_Rosefinch

External Links

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