Description:

Large, heavy-bodied grosbeak with short wing and longish, relatively slender tail. Male has black head, mantle and breast, and olive-yellow rump and rest of underparts; has yellow tips to greater coverts and tertials, and large white patch at base of primaries. Female is similar, but black of plumage is replaced by sooty grey.

Distribution:

Common resident in western half of Gilgit-Baltistan, eastwards to parts of Skardu. Prefers dwarf juniper forest above tree line, mixed juniper and fir near tree line up to 4000m, in winter down to 2400m in mixed, juniper or fir forest.

Behavior:

Forages on the ground, often spending long periods in one area; also in low bushes and in trees. When disturbed from ground, flies to top of nearby tree before returning to feeding area. Feeds on mostly juniper berries (with pulp discarded), also seeds of spruce and mountain ash, rose hips and strawberries.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of White-winged Grosbeak in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of White-winged Grosbeak

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.