White-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis occurs in most high-altitude mountains from Spain to China. In China, groumgrzimaili is in Tianshan and Altai Mountains in Xinjiang and kwenlunensis in Kunlun, Altun, and Qilian Mountains in Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Gansu. ID & COMPARISON Distinguished from Tibetan Snowfinch M. henrici by lighter, sandier-brown upperparts, grey-brown rather than earth-brown head, and faint or absent white submoustachial stripe and supercilium. Black-winged Snowfinch M. adamsi has paler, less contrasting grey-brown head and less white on wing and tends to prefer lower altitudes. Juvenile distinguished from Tibetan Snowfinch by wing pattern and paler head. BARE PARTS Non-breeding bill yellow with black tip, breeding black with yellow base to lower mandible. Feet black. Iris brown. VOICE Varied repertoire includes buzzy calls and chirping song, delivered from perch or in circling display flight. — Craig Brelsford
THE OLD WORLD SPARROWS OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com has research on most of the 13 species in the family Passeridae in China. Click any link:
Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia
White-rumped Snowfinch Onychostruthus taczanowskii
Tibetan Snowfinch Montifringilla henrici
White-winged Snowfinch M. nivalis
Black-winged Snowfinch M. adamsi
Rufous-necked Snowfinch Pyrgilauda ruficollis
Pere David’s Snowfinch P. davidiana
Blanford’s Snowfinch P. blanfordi
Russet Sparrow Passer cinnamomeus
Eurasian Tree Sparrow P. montanus
Saxaul Sparrow P. ammodendri
Spanish Sparrow P. hispaniolensis
House Sparrow P. domesticus
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
