RED BIRDS SEEN IN NORTH AMERICA

Black Rosy-Finch 

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Leucosticte Atrata

Breeding plumage:
Adults are blackish overall with pink highlights on the wings and lower belly, and a gray crown.

Nonbreeding plumage:
Adults are brownish instead of black, but still have the same pink highlights as breeding birds.

Juveniles are brownish overall with buffy wingbars.

BILL: cone-shaped, black (breeders) and yellow (nonbreeders).

SIZE: medium-sized, measuring about 5.5 - 6.3 inches in length, win a wingspan of 13 inches.

WEIGHT: weighs about 22 - 32 grams.

COLOR: black, pink and gray (breeding), brown and pink (nonbreeding).

Seeds and insects during the breeding season and primarily seeds during the winter.

Mountain areas above the tree-line, amongst alpine rocks and cliffs.

BREEDS: Rocky Mountain regions of southwestern Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to northern Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.

WINTER: South into northern Arizona and New Mexico.

SONG: A slow series of whistling notes that descend throughout the song.

CALL: A buzzy chew and a higher-pitched whiny call that sounds like a cross between a House Sparrow and an American Goldfinch.

NEST: The female collects moss to form the base of the nest and weave together grasses and stems into a bulky cup nest. It is lined with fine grass, hair, and occasionally feathers.

EGGS: 3 - 6 white eggs.

INCUBATION: 11 - 14 days, female.

NESTLING PHASE: 20 days.

They forage by walking along the ground in search of seeds. They sometimes feed in low vegetation or fly up from the ground to capture insects in flight.

They also form large flocks during the winter, with individuals often leapfrogging over each other as they work a patch of food.

The oldest recorded Black Rosy-Finch was a male, and at least 8 years, 7 months old.

SOURCES:
https://www.birds-of-north-america.net
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://www.allaboutbirds.org
https://www.sdakotabirds.com