Andrew Dixon
Member
Can anyone help me with the ID and inform me of the current taxonomic status of two snowfinch species found on the Tibetan Plateau.
This picture was taken in Qinghai in June on high plateau. The bird was foraging for insects amonst rocks and short vegetation and feeding chicks in a nest in a hole beneath a stone about 100 m away.
At the time I had the McKinnon & Phillips field guide which illustrates two possible species: White-winged Snowfinch M. nivalis and Tibetan Snowfinch M. adamsii. I thought this was adamsii based on the small amount of visible white on the wing.
I have since learned that White-winged Snowfinch has been split and that the former subspecies M. nivalis henrici, which is found on the Tibetan Plateau is now regarded as a full species and its English name is ... Tibetan Snowfinch (the same name given to M. adamsii in McKinnon & Phillips).
I guess the alternative English names of Henri's and Adams's snowfinches are less ambiguous regarding which taxon is being referred to.
Anyway, does anyone have a reference for the justification of splitting nivalis and are there any pointers for distinguishing Henri's and Adams's Snowfinches.
I've also got some pictures of winter-plumage snowfinches on the plateau that are even more confusing!
Thanks
Andrew
This picture was taken in Qinghai in June on high plateau. The bird was foraging for insects amonst rocks and short vegetation and feeding chicks in a nest in a hole beneath a stone about 100 m away.
At the time I had the McKinnon & Phillips field guide which illustrates two possible species: White-winged Snowfinch M. nivalis and Tibetan Snowfinch M. adamsii. I thought this was adamsii based on the small amount of visible white on the wing.
I have since learned that White-winged Snowfinch has been split and that the former subspecies M. nivalis henrici, which is found on the Tibetan Plateau is now regarded as a full species and its English name is ... Tibetan Snowfinch (the same name given to M. adamsii in McKinnon & Phillips).
I guess the alternative English names of Henri's and Adams's snowfinches are less ambiguous regarding which taxon is being referred to.
Anyway, does anyone have a reference for the justification of splitting nivalis and are there any pointers for distinguishing Henri's and Adams's Snowfinches.
I've also got some pictures of winter-plumage snowfinches on the plateau that are even more confusing!
Thanks
Andrew