Description:

Colorful finch-like bird with fairly small, conical stouter bill. Black centre to white forehead, black 'spur' in front of eye dividing white supercilium, and black chin and centre of throat. Has rather uniform wing-coverts and mantle and scapulars are unstreaked.

Distribution:

Rare resident in the eastern most tip of Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan. Found in dry sandy plains and stony areas on edges of sparse, grassy steppes and in neighborhood of habitations. Associates with pikas at 4000-5500m.

Behavior:

Forages on ground; runs extensively, digs with legs and bill. Runs around, mouse-like, while foraging on the ground. In winter occurs in flocks, often in the company of finches, sparrows and other snowfinch species. 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 Plain-backed Snowfinch in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Plain-backed 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.