Description:

A large, plumpish, finch-like bird with relatively long wings and tail; bill stout and pointed, black wings with white markings. Additional features are combination of whitish-tipped black throat with plain grey-brown lores and forehead, and dull grey-brown coloration to head and upperparts.

Distribution:

Scarce resident in the northern highlands of Hunza district in Gilgit-Baltistan. Occupies rocky, high-altitude steppe country and the neighborhood of upland villages; near edges of streams and melting snowfields, at 3500-5200m.

Behavior:

Forages on ground, searching under rocks, commonly at edge of snowfields, and catches insects in flight. In pairs and family groups; outside breeding season in flocks, sometimes very large ones. Diet mostly consists of seeds and buds of alpine plants, buts also takes some insects and other small invertebrates.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Black-winged Snowfinch in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Black-winged Snowfinch

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.