Birdpass
English
Mongolian Finch

Mongolian Finch

Bucanetes mongolicus

Identify the Mongolian Finch by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

  • Download on the App Store
  • Get it on Google Play

The Mongolian Finch is a small, long-winged finch of arid mountains and stony deserts from eastern Turkey and the Caucasus across Central Asia to western China and Mongolia. Breeding males have a soft pink wash on the face and underparts and white-and-pink wing patches, while females are duller. It is largely resident, though it moves to lower ground in winter, and is unobtrusive outside the breeding season.

Did you know?

  • It is also known as the Mongolian Trumpeter Finch.
  • Despite its name, it ranges far beyond Mongolia, west to eastern Turkey and the Caucasus.

About the species

Identification

A small, sandy-brown finch with a stubby, pale bill. Breeding males have a pinkish face and underparts and a white-and-pink wing panel that flashes in flight; females are duller with only a hint of pink. Told from Trumpeter Finch by its streaked back, paler bill and pale wing panel.

Family

Fringillidae

Size

Small (sparrow)

Colours

brown, grey, red

About the habitat

Mountainous country with stony semi-desert, sparse scrub and rocky slopes, often at high altitudes.

Diet

Mainly small seeds of low plants and grasses; also shoots and occasionally insects.

Behaviour

Usually seen in pairs or small flocks feeding on the ground and flying off to drink at water sources. Generally quiet outside the breeding season; calls include rising, nasal notes, and the song is a rambling mix of these. It nests in crevices and among stones on slopes.

Sources

Photo: Pkspks, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bucanetes mongolicus.JPG

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_finch

See also