White-winged snowfinch

The white-winged snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis), or snowfinch, is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is a sparrow rather than a true finch.

Taxonomy

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the white-winged snowfinch in his Ornithologie based on a specimen but without specifying where it had been collected. He used the French name {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and the Latin Fringilla nivalis.<ref name=brisson>Template:Cite book The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.</ref> Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.<ref name=allen>Template:Cite journal</ref> When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.<ref name=allen/> One of these was the white-winged snowfinch. Linnaeus included a brief description, used the binomial name Fringilla nivalis and cited Brisson's work. Linnaeus listed the type location as "America".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The type location was subsequently designated as Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The specific name nivalis is Latin for 'snowy' or 'snow-white'.<ref name=hbwkey>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This species is now placed in the genus Montifringilla that was introduced by the German ornithologist Christian Ludwig Brehm in 1828.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Seven subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• M. n. nivalis (Linnaeus, 1766) – south Europe
• M. n. leucura Bonaparte, 1855 – south and east Turkey
• M. n. alpicola (Pallas, 1811) – the Caucasus and north Iran to Afghanistan
• M. n. gaddi Zarudny & Loudon, 1904 – southwest Iran
• M. n. tianshanica Keve-Kleiner, 1943 – east Kazakhstan and north Tajikistan
• M. n. groumgrzimaili Zarudny & Loudon, 1904 – northwest China to central Mongolia
• M. n. kwenlunensis Bianchi, 1908 – west central China and north Tibet

Description

The white-winged snowfinch is a large stocky snowfinch at Template:Convert in length. It has brown upperparts, white underparts and a grey head. There is a long narrow white wing panel. In summer, the bill is black, and there is a black bib. The bib is lost in winter and the bill becomes yellow. Sexes are similar.

In Tarn, France in December showing winter colours including an orange beak

In flight, it shows black wings with huge white wing panels, and a white edged black tail. This bird has a chattering song with many trills, and variety of rolling or creaky calls.

In Northern Alps, France in winter

Distribution and habitat

It is a resident breeding species on bare mountains, typically above Template:Convert, across southern Europe (Pyrenees, Alps, Corsica, Balkans) and through central Asia to western China. It nests in crevices or rodent burrows, laying 3–4 eggs.

Behaviour

Eggs from the collection of the Museum de Toulouse

The white-winged snowfinch's food is mainly seeds with some insects. It is fearless, and will forage around ski resorts. It is hardy, and rarely descends below Template:Convert even in hard winter weather.

External links

• Photos at Oiseaux