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24

Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) Alternate name(s): "Scarlet Rosefinch" German name(s): "Karmingimpel" Size: 13-15 cm Weight: 20-25 g

Europe: Family Group 24 Family Group 24 Table White Wagtail Western Yellow Wagtail Grey Wagtail Tawny Pipit Berthelot's Pipit Red-throated Pipit Tree Pipit Meadow Pipit Water Pipit Eurasian Rock Pipit Greater Short-toed Lark Calandra Lark Woodlark Eurasian Skylark Bearded Reedling House Sparrow Tree Sparrow Spanish Sparrow Rock Sparrow Trumpeter Finch European Serin Atlantic Canary Red-fronted Serin Eurasian Siskin Common Redpoll Arctic Redpoll Common Linnet Brambling Common Chaffinch European Goldfinch Eurasian Bullfinch Hawfinch Common Crossbill Common Rosefinch Yellowhammer Cirl Bunting Common Reed Bunting Ortolan Bunting Black-headed Bunting Corn Bunting Rock Bunting House Bunting Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Rosefinches are small finches. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Common Rosefinches have a dark crimson/grey head, a scarlet chin/throat patch and an otherwise pale pinkish-grey front and sides. The wings are dark-grey with pink edge-lining, while the rump is bright-red. Vent and undertail coverts are light-grey, while the uppertail is dark-grey. Females are much more inconspicuous than males, with highly cryptic plumage. They are almost entirely olive-grey with slightly darker grey streaking, except the belly, which is a lighter shade of grey. Wings and tail are dark-grey with olive-grey edge lining. Both sexes have a short, stout, rounded grey bill, dark irises and grey legs and feet. First-winter males and juveniles resemble females, but with a slightly richer olive tint.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Rosefinch at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information According to some sources, the Common Rosefinch should be re-classified into its own genus as Erythrina erythrina.

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Rosefinch is available HERE . Common Rosefinches are a migratory species. There are 5 races which, taken altogether, have a wide-ranging distribution, from the coastline of Iceland in the West to the East Siberian Pacific coastline in the East. During the breeding season the Asian population is found at mid to high latitudes (25 to 68 degrees N), while in winter the entire Eurasian populations migrates to the South, into northern Iran, Pakistan, much of the Indian subcontinent, south-eastern Asia as far to the East as eastern China (and as far South as the latitude of southern Thailand), but also on the northern side of the Himalayas. There are also small wintering populations in Korea and Japan. In Europe only Common Rosefinches of the nominate race "erythrinus" are found. They are summer breeding migrants from the South-east. Their breeding range, which includes the lower Danube valley and a few selected locations in Greece and the Balkans, extends westwards as far as the upper Danube valley, the Elbe river and all around the Baltic Sea, to about the Arctic circle as the northern boundary. They can be present anywhere to the East of the western limit described above. While during the breeding season Common Rosefinches prefer thickets, woodland and the edges of forest, they are usually found in wetlands, or at least near reliable water (including gardens and orchards), in winter.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "erythrinus" S. Cuturilov reports spotting a Common Rosefinch, race "erythrinus", on the Pester plateau, south-western Serbia, in June 2017. D. Wilczynska reports finding a Common Rosefinch, race "erythrinus", at Biebrza NP, Poland, in May 2018.

Photos

Race "erythrinus"

ADULT

MALE

Distant frontal view of a male Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Pester plateau, Serbia, June 2017]

Lateral view of a male Common Rosefinch looking at the observer (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2018]

Lateral view of a male Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2018]

Lateral view of a male Common Rosefinch; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 19 May 2018
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2018]

Lateral view of a male Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)

Lateral view of a female Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)

Near-dorsal view of a female Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)

Near-dorsal view of a female Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)

Dorsal view of a female Common Rosefinch (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

rosfin_dw_20190519.m4a	erythrinus (Ctl Poland)	Territorial call (male)	© DW
rosfin_dw_20190519_2.m4a	erythrinus (Ctl Poland)	Territorial calls (male)	© DW
rosfin_dw_20180519.m4a	erythrinus (NE Poland)	Territorial calls (male)	© DW

More Common Rosefinch sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 1 January 2021, 5:32 +00:00