Mountain finch

For the mountain finches from South America, see Compsospiza and Poospiza caesar.

The mountain finches are birds in the genus Leucosticte from the true finch family, Fringillidae. This genus also includes the rosy finches, named from their pinkish plumage.

Mountain finches
Grey-crowned rosy finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Fringillidae
Subfamily:	Carduelinae
Genus:	Leucosticte Swainson, 1832
Type species
Linaria tephrocotis[1] Swainson, 1832
Species
See text.

The genus is a sister to the monotypic Procarduelis containing the Asian dark-breasted rosefinch.^[2] These birds are native to Asia and North America and are typically found in barren mountainous regions. Many species eat more insect material than other finches.

There are six species in the genus:^[3]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Leucosticte nemoricola	Plain mountain finch	Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Tibet, and Turkmenistan.
	Leucosticte brandti	Brandt's mountain finch	Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan
	Leucosticte arctoa	Asian rosy finch	Mongolia and North Asia; it winters in Manchuria, Korea, Sakhalin and Japan
	Leucosticte tephrocotis	Grey-crowned rosy finch	Alaska, western Canada, and the north-western United States.
	Leucosticte atrata	Black rosy finch	Interior west
	Leucosticte australis	Brown-capped rosy finch	central Rocky Mountains of the United States

References

1. "Fringillidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
2. Zuccon, Dario; Prŷs-Jones, Robert; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62 (2): 581–596. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002. PMID 22023825.
3. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Finches, euphonias". World Bird List Version 5.4. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 December 2015.