Description:

Small finch with short, stubby bill, tail forked at tip. Male has scarlet forehead and largely black head and breast. Mantle and belly/flanks are boldly streaked with black, and washed with olive-yellow. Female is generally duller, with less red on forehead. Juvenile has cinnamon-brown crown.

Distribution:

Common resident and altitudinal migrant in all the parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. Found in rocky mountain slopes with grass and scrub, scattered junipers and meadows up to 4000m in summer. Winters down to 1500m in slops with scrub and cultivation.

Behavior:

Forages mostly on ground at woodland edges, on also open screes, meadows and open windblown boulder fields. Mainly feeds on seeds, shoots, flower heads and fruits, together with small numbers of insects. Takes seeds of variety of trees, including alder, birch, spruce, juniper, willow, larch, mulberry, also those of various alpine plants.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Fire-fronted Serin in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Fire-fronted Serin

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.