Mongolian Finch

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Mongolian Finch
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Rhodopechys
Species: R. mongolicus
Binomial name
Rhodopechys mongolicus
(Swinhoe, 1870)

The Mongolian Finch, Rhodopechys mongolicus (also known as Mongolian Trumpeter Finch) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

Contents

[edit] Morphology

The Mongolian Finch is a small, long-winged bird. It has a large head and short, thick greyish-yellow bill. In breeding plumage, males have a pink flush to their face and underparts, and there are extensive white and pink areas in the wings, a pattern that is also present but less marked in non-breeding plumage.

[edit] Status, distribution and habitat

This bird is a resident from eastern Turkey, across the Caucasus, east into Central Asia and on to western China and Mongolia and south into the Kashmir. Mountainous areas of stony desert or semi-arid scrub and rocky slopes are favoured for breeding.

The species is native in the following 14 countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.[1] It is a vagrant in Bahrain.[1]

[edit] Turkey

In Turkey, the species' occurrence in the far east of the country is well-documented, e.g. Kirwan & Conrad (1995),[2] Roselaar (1995).[3]

Kirwan et. al. (2000) published information suggesting that the species' Turkish range may be more extensive, including a record in 1999 from Sivrikaya in the Pontic mountains, 100km northwest of the core Turkish range, and one in 1982 from Sultanbabadagi, Tunceli, 200km west of its core range.[4] They also suggest that an adult with a fledged juvenile seen on the eastern side of Lake Tuz in 1967, and identified at the time as Desert Finches, may actually have been Mongolian Finches.[4]

[edit] Armenia

The first Mongolian Finch in Armenia was recorded in 2001 near Vedi. [5] Further birds were seen here in 2002. [6]

[edit] Azerbaijan

The species was first recorded in Azerbaijan at Bulgan in early May 1912 (Beme 1926) [7] Bulgan is in the Nakhchivan region, which is separated from the main part of the country by a strip of Armenian territory; Kirwan & Konrad (1995) [2] incorrectly list this site as being in Armenia. Beddard et. al. (2002) [5] were unaware of any records from the main part of the country.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Birdlife Species factsheet (additional data): Mongolian Finch (Rhodopechys mongolicus) Birdlife International (accessed 23 May 2008)
  2. ^ a b Kirwan, Guy & Volker Conrad (1995) Little known Western Palearctic birds: Mongolian Trumpeter Finch Birding World 8(4):139-44
  3. ^ Roselaar, C. S. (1995) Songbird of Turkey: an atlas of biodiversity of Turkish passerine birds ISBN 90-74345-07-7
  4. ^ a b Kirwan, Guy M., Matthias Bechtolsheim and Siegfried Willig (2000) Distribution of Mongolian Finch in Turkey Dutch Birding 22(3):149-50
  5. ^ a b Beddard, Roy, Vasil Ananian and Mark Finn (2002) The first Mongolian Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes mongolicus in Armenia Sandgrouse 24(2): 144-7
  6. ^ Ananian, Vasil and Simon Busuttil (2003) Furtehr observations and probable breeding of Mongolian Trumpeter Finch Bucanetes mongolicus in Armenia Sandgrouse 25((2): 148-50
  7. ^ Beme, L. B. (1926) [Liste der von P. I. Shukow 1915-1917 in der nordlichen turkei gesammelten Vogel.] Izv. Gorsk (Vladikavkas) 3: 97-102