Plain Mountain Finch

Leucosticte nemoricola (Hodgson, 1836)

Plain Mountain Finch, Leucosticte nemoricola, is a finch of the Fringillidae family that breeds across alpine meadows and subalpine scrub from the Tienshan and Altai to the Himalayas. It occurs in parts of Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Karakorum, Tibet, the Inner Himalayas, far northern Myanmar, north-west Yunnan, north Qinghai, Gansu and southern Shaanxi. Outside the breeding season it moves to lower ground. It is also found in temperate grassland, upland forest and on rocky cliffs, and is a resident breeder across the Himalayas. Its plumage and patterning are said to recall a house sparrow.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Fringillidae — Finches, Euphonias

Breeding range

Oriental Region: c, sc Palearctic from Tienshan to Altai and Himalayas in alpine meadows and subalpine scrub: e Kazakhstan ne to Altay and Tuva regions (sc Russia), w, nw Xinjiang (nw China) and w Mongolia; in s through ne Afghanistan, e in Karakorum, s, c, e Tibet and Inner Himalayas to far n Myanmar and nw Yunnan, ne to n Qinghai, Gansu and s Shaanxi (nc China)

Nonbreeding range

to lower elevations