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Home/Species/ Brown-capped Rosy-Finch

Leucosticte australis

Ridgway, 1874

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch

G4Apparently Secure Found in 65 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
EndangeredIUCN
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis). © Jacob Drucker; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Jacob Drucker; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis). © Cameron Carver; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Cameron Carver; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis). © Brian Genge; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Brian Genge; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis). © Matt Blaze; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Matt Blaze; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis). © Joel Such; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Joel Such; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis). © Dean Hester; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library.
© Dean Hester; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis). Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Public Domain (U.S. Government Work), via ECOS.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106154
Element CodeABPBY02020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNEndangered
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyFringillidae
GenusLeucosticte
Other Common Names
brown-capped rosy-finch (EN) Roselin à tête brune (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Prior to 1983, North American rosy-finches were regarded as three species (L. atrata, L. australis, and L. tephrocotis). AOU (1983) lumped these together with Asian species as L. arctoa. Subsequently, Sibley and Monroe (1990, who cited unpublished genetic, biochemical, and morphological data by French and Loskot) and AOU (1993, who stated that the 1983 merger was based on insufficient new information) again recognized three species of rosy-finches in North America, distinct from Old World L. arctoa.

The three North American species sometimes have been merged as L. tephrocotis (American Rosy-Finch). Unpublished work by Johnson (1972) recognized a fourth North American species (L. griseonucha, comprising nominal subspecies griseonucha and umbrina of the Pribilof and Aleutian islands), but this taxon has not been accepted as a full species in subsequent checklists
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-12-04
Change Date1996-12-04
Edition Date1995-03-08
Edition AuthorsR.E. Johnson and J.D. Reichel. Slight revision by L. Master & G. Hammerson.
Range Extent250-20,000 square km (about 100-8000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 20
Rank Reasons
This species had few EOs, limited range, but is numerous within that range. Most EOs are on public lands, and development in alpine areas (e.g., mining) has apparently not caused population declines. It currently appears globally secure.
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: mountains from southeastern Wyoming (Medicine Bow Range) south through Colorado to north-central New Mexico (Santa Fe region) (AOU 1983). WINTERS: generally at lower elevations in breeding range (AOU 1983).
Occurrences Comments
2-3 large EOs, 10-15 smaller.
Threat Impact Comments
No known threats.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Barren, rocky or grassy areas and cliffs among glaciers or beyond timberline; in migration and winter also in open situations, fields, cultivated lands, brushy areas, and around human habitation (AOU 1983). Nests usually in rock crevices or holes in cliffs. May nest in mine shaft or old abandoned building.

Ecology

Males typically outnumber females in breeding and wintering populations. During breeding season male defends "territory" around female wherever she moves (Ryser 1985). Forms large flocks when not breeding.

Reproduction

Clutch size usually is 4-5. Incubation lasts 12-14 days, by female. Young are tended by both adults, leave nest at about 20 days.
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceousAlpineBare rock/talus/screeCliffCropland/hedgerow
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4B,N4N
ProvinceRankNative
New MexicoS1B,S3NYes
UtahSNRYes
ColoradoS3B,S4NYes
WyomingS1Yes
Roadless Areas (65)
Colorado (20)
AreaForestAcres
Bristol HeadRio Grande NF46,087
Bristol HeadRio Grande NF46,087
Comanche Peak Adjacent AreaArapaho & Roosevelt NFs44,158
Comanche Peak Adjacent AreaArapaho & Roosevelt NFs44,158
Comanche Peak Adjacent AreaArapaho & Roosevelt NFs44,158
Dome PeakRoutt NF35,716
HermosaSan Juan NF148,103
HermosaSan Juan NF148,103
HermosaSan Juan NF148,103
Long ParkRoutt NF42,100
Pole Mountain / Finger MesaRio Grande NF43,863
Pole Mountain / Finger MesaRio Grande NF43,863
Pole Mountain / Finger MesaRio Grande NF43,863
San MiguelSan Juan NF64,263
San MiguelSan Juan NF64,263
San MiguelSan Juan NF64,263
Storm PeakSan Juan NF57,617
Storm PeakSan Juan NF57,617
Williams Fork Ptarmingan AdjacentArapaho & Roosevelt NFs36,351
Williams Fork Ptarmingan AdjacentArapaho & Roosevelt NFs36,351
New Mexico (21)
AreaForestAcres
Bull - Of - The - WoodsCarson National Forest488
Bull - Of - The - WoodsCarson National Forest488
Columbine - Hondo Wilderness Study AreaCarson National Forest43,739
Columbine - Hondo Wilderness Study AreaCarson National Forest43,739
Columbine - Hondo Wilderness Study AreaCarson National Forest43,739
Cruces BasinCarson National Forest5,244
Cruces BasinCarson National Forest5,244
Ghost TownSanta Fe National Forest219
Ghost TownSanta Fe National Forest219
Guaje CanyonSanta Fe National Forest6,104
Guaje CanyonSanta Fe National Forest6,104
Latir PeakCarson National Forest3,573
Latir PeakCarson National Forest3,573
Oser MesaCarson National Forest2,840
Oser MesaCarson National Forest2,840
Peralta RidgeSanta Fe National Forest4,027
Peralta RidgeSanta Fe National Forest4,027
RendijaSanta Fe National Forest2,176
RendijaSanta Fe National Forest2,176
Wheeler Peak WildernessCarson National Forest2,677
Wheeler Peak WildernessCarson National Forest2,677
Utah (10)
AreaForestAcres
Horse Mountain - Mans PeakManti-Lasal National Forest22,159
Horse Mountain - Mans PeakManti-Lasal National Forest22,159
Lone Peak ContiguousWasatch-Cache National Forest874
Lone Peak ContiguousWasatch-Cache National Forest874
Mt. OlympusWasatch-Cache National Forest9,982
Mt. OlympusWasatch-Cache National Forest9,982
Twin PeaksWasatch-Cache National Forest6,157
Twin PeaksWasatch-Cache National Forest6,157
White PineWasatch-Cache National Forest1,942
White PineWasatch-Cache National Forest1,942
Wyoming (14)
AreaForestAcres
Campbell LakeMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest7,088
Campbell LakeMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest7,088
French CreekMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest5,928
French CreekMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest5,928
French CreekMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest5,928
Libby FlatsMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest11,107
Libby FlatsMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest11,107
Libby FlatsMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest11,107
Middle ForkMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest13,238
Middle ForkMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest13,238
Middle ForkMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest13,238
Snowy RangeMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest29,660
Snowy RangeMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest29,660
Snowy RangeMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest29,660
References (15)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1993. Thirty-ninth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 110:675-82.
  3. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  4. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  5. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  6. Johnson, R. E. 1972e. The biosystematics of the avian genus <i>Leucosticte</i>. Ph.D dissertation. University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
  7. Johnson, R. E., P. Hendricks, D. L. Pattie, and K. B. Hunter. 2000. Brown-capped Rosy Finch (LEUCOSTICTE AUSTRALIS). No. 536 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 24pp.
  8. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  9. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  10. Sibley, C.G., and B.L. Monroe, Jr. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. xxiv + 1111 pp.
  11. Sibley, C. G., and J. E. Ahlquist. 1990. Phylogeny and classification of birds: a study in molecular evolution. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven. xxiii + 976 pp.
  12. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  13. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  14. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  15. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.