Description:

Large finch with large conical bill, distinctive face pattern and deeply notched tail. Wings are black, with bold whitish tips to greater coverts and flight feathers. Male has pinkish-red 'spectacles', maroon-brown mantle, and pinkish-red wash to underparts.Female has paler head with orange-yellow 'spectacles'.

Distribution:

Possible resident or summer visitor in the southern border areas of Diamer district. Summers in sub montane or montane conifer and mix forests up to 3350m, descends to more open areas along forest edge and grassy slopes in winters.

Behavior:

Forages on the ground in the open (including at edges of melting snow) or under bushes, in tall vegetation, in rhododendrons and in lower levels of trees. Eats mostly tree seeds, buds and shoots, principally of deodars, spruce, also rhododendron bark and berries; recorded also as taking succulent leaves and pecking at flower heads.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Spectacled Finch in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Spectacled Finch

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.