the gray-crowned rosy finch , or gray-crowned rosy-finch , (leucosticte tephrocotis) is a species of passerine bird in the family fringillidae native to alaska , western canada , and the north-western united states .
due to its remote and rocky alpine habitat it is rarely seen .
there are currently six recognized subspecies .
it is one of four species of rosy-finches .
the gray-crowned rosy finch was first classified by english ornithologist william john swainson in 1832.{r|redlist} this bird has been thought to form a superspecies with three other rosy finches (also known as mountain finch): black rosy finch (l .
atrata) and the brown-capped rosy finch (l .
australis), all of which were classified as the same species as the asian rosy finch (l .
arctoa) from 1983-1993.{r|alllife}{r|bna}{r|azfo} recent mitochondrial dna evidence shows the rosy finches are all indeed very closely related and can be easily confused with one another .
{r|mtfg} along with four asian rosy finches , the three north american rosy finches form the mountain finch genus leucosticte .
alternate common names include: roselin  tte grise (in french), schwarzstirn-schneegimpel (in german), and pinzn montano nuquigr (in spanish) .
{r|ibc}six subspecies of the gray-crowned rosy finch are now recognized , though proposals for additional subspecies have been recognized .
{r|ibc}within the finch family , the gray-crowned rosy finch is medium-large with a comparatively long notched tail and wing .
{r|birdweb}{r|mtfg} adults are brown on the back and breast and mainly pink on the rest of the underparts and the wings .
the forehead and throat are black; the back of the head is grey .
they have short black legs and a long forked tail .
there is some variability in the amount of grey on the head .
adult females and juveniles are similar .
{r|allid} overall length is {convert|140|to(-)|160|mm|in|abbr=on}, wingspan {convert|33|mm|in|abbr=on}, and weight {convert|22|to(-)|26|g|oz|abbr=on} .
{r|alllife} l .
t .
wallowa has an almost entirely gray head .
{r|birdweb} the pribilof and aleutian subspecies have a length of {convert|170|to(-)|210|mm|in|abbr=on} and weight of {convert|42|to(-)|60|g|oz|abbr=on}, about twice the size of the other subspecies .
{r|alllife}{r|mtfg} the black rosy finch has a black instead of brown body and the brown-capped rosy finch is a lighter brown and lacks the gray face patch .
{r|allid}the ancestor of the three species of north american rosy finches migrated from asia .
{r|gular} all rosy finches live in an alpine or tundra environment .
the gray-crowned rosy finch has a wide range and large numbers throughout alaska , and western canada and the united states .
l .
t .
griseonucha permanently resides in the aleutian islands and umbrina on the pribilof islands .
a small number of gray-crowned rosy finches winters on the mainland in south-cenral alaska and visits feeders there .
the other taxa: littoralis , tephrocotis , wallowa , and dawsoni are found from the canadian and american rockies and migrate south to the western united states .
{r|redlist} l .
t .
tephrocotis summers from montana to the yukon , while littoralis breeds closer to the coast , from northern california to west-central alaska .
{r|azfo} due to its remote habitat , few of its nests have been found , it is rarely spotted , and the population is stable .
{r|alllife}{r|birdweb} they are invariably found amongst rocks .
{r|birdweb} the areas the subspecies breed in rarely overlap during breeding season .
males typically outnumber females throughout the year .
{r|mtfg}rosy finches are very environment-specific .
in the summer their breeding habitat is rocky islands and barren areas on mountains from alaska to the northwestern united states .
these mountain breeding areas tend to be snowfields and rocky scree .
{r|birdweb} when not breeding they form large flocks of over 1000 individuals which are sometimes known to include snow buntings (p .
nivalis), lapland longspurs (c .
lapponicus), and horned larks (e .
alpestris), as well as other rosy-finch species .
{r|mtfg}{r|birdweb} they descend in flocks as far as the fringes of the western plains beginning in autumn when the snows get deep .
they return to alpine regions when snow is still deep in early spring .
{r|birdweb} they may breed at a higher altitude than any other breeding bird in north america .
{r|bna}{r|birdweb} due to these extreme breeding altitudes , they are very difficult to observe during breeding times .
{r|bna}{r|birdweb} they build a cup nest in mid-june at a sheltered , hidden location on the ground or on a cliff and are monogamous .
{r|birdweb} they are known to use protected areas such as mine shafts and abandoned buildings for nesting .
{r|mtfg} both sexes collect the nesting material of grass , roots , lichen , moss , and sedge , but only the female builds the nest .
lining material consists of fine grass , hair , and feathers .
females lay 3-5 eggs which she incubates for approximately two weeks .
both sexes feed the chicks , which leave the nest after 2-3 weeks .
chicks continue to be fed by their parents for about two weeks after leaving the nest in late july or early august .
{r|birdweb} a male will defend its female's territory during breeding season , not just the nest but where ever she goes .
this behavior is common with the rosy finches .
{r|mtfg}{r|mtfg1}these birds forage on the ground; many fly to catch insects in flight .
during the summer they mainly eat insects , such as cutworms , that were caught in updrafts and frozen in snowfields .
they also feed in the meadows near snowfields .
{r|mtfg} in the winter they eat seeds from weeds and grasses such as russian thistle (e .
exaltatus), mustard , and sunflower (h .
annuus) .
when breeding , both males and females develop throat pouches , known as gular pouches or gular skin , to carry food to their chicks ,{r|birdweb}{r|gular} a trait seen in only one other north american genus , pinicola .
{r|bna1}  the three subspecies that live in mountain interiors have brown cheeks instead of gray cheeks .
they show little fear of humans .
{r|alllife}{r|birdweb} they often feed in small flocks .
their call is a buzz-sounding "chew" .
{r|allcall} they can be approached to within {convert|1|to(-)|2|m|ft|abbr=on} .
