Description:

Stout sparrow with short, square tail and robust bill and white-tipped tail. Has broad whitish supercilium, dark brown lateral crown-stripe and eye-stripe, and pale central crown-stripe. Also shows buffish-white stripes on mantle, diffuse grey-brown streaking on breast and flanks and yellow patch on lower throat.

Distribution:

Widespread winter visitor to north-western and central regions, but uncommon in south and east. Generally found in bare treeless mountains, ranging from flat desert steppe to rocky slopes and ravines with sparse vegetation, up to 3000m.

Behavior:

Food collected mostly on the ground, but some insects caught in flight. Shy and wary; usually encountered in small flocks. Mainly feeds on seeds of low herbs and grasses, also small berries. In breeding season also animal matter including termites and beetles, taking larger prey than other sparrows.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Rock Petronia in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Rock Petronia

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.