Grey-crowned goldfinch
The grey-crowned goldfinch, also called the eastern goldfinch, Himalayan goldfinch or grey-capped goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family that is distributed throughout Central Asia and the Himalayas.
Etymology
The genus name Carduelis comes from Linnaeus's specific epithet for the European Goldfinch Fringilla carduelis. Carduelis is the Latin name for the goldfinch.The epithet caniceps is derived from the Latin canus and caput.
Taxonomy
Although first described by Vigors as a distinct species, the grey-crowned goldfinch was until recently widely treated as a subspecies group in the European goldfinch, primarily because it hybridised with it in southwestern Siberia and northern Iran. In 2016, BirdLife International restored its species status, and in 2024, the IOC World Bird List followed suit, accepting it as a separate species because of its very distinct plumage, lacking the black crown and vertical line behind the ear coverts of its relative.Subspecies
Four subspecies are currently accepted:Carduelis caniceps paropanisi Kollibay, 1910 - paler face than C. c. caniceps and breast is almost entirely grey Carduelis caniceps subulata Gloger, 1833 - largest subspecies, upperparts pale buffish grey or tinged with cinnamonCarduelis caniceps caniceps Vigors, 1831 - smaller and darker grey than C. c. subulataCarduelis caniceps ultima Koelz, 1949 - southern Iran - longer billed than ''C. c. paropanisi''Description
The grey-crowned goldfinch is long with a wingspan of. They weigh about.The male has a brighter and more extensive red on the face and brighter yellow on the wing than the female, which appears to be the only notable difference between the sexes. Both sexes have a pinkish bill.
The juvenile lacks the red in the face, has faint streaking on breast and has buffish tips to coverts and tertial markings.
Its calls include twittering "deedelit" and "chirik".
Distribution
The grey-crowned goldfinch breeds in southern and eastern Iran east through Afghanistan to the western Himalaya in northern and western Pakistan, northwestern India, and western Nepal, and northeast through Central Asia to the far west of Xinjiang in China. In the nonbreeding season it is found to lower levels in the Himalaya and Central Asia; in the Himalaya, it is a altitudinal migrant, breeding at 2,400–4,200 m altitude, and descending in winter to 1,900–2,400 m altitude; similar altitudinal migration also occurs in Kazakhstan.It occupies open and sparse deciduous woodland, mixed deciduous and conifer woods, forest edges at an altitude of 2100-3600 m, orchards and often parks and gardens. It usually lives at altitudes higher than the European goldfinch.
Vagrancy
The species has been recorded as a vagrant in Beijing, China. A vagrant, possibly C.carduelis subulata, was recorded in Japan.Escaped or released captive birds have been reported in North America, but much more rarely than European goldfinch, with fewer than 1% of the number of that species.
Behaviour and ecology
Flocks
They gather in flocks of four to several dozen birds and sometimes with other finches. They usually forage on the ground. They form flocks during autumn and winter to forage for food.Diet
The diet consists mainly of seeds of various flowers, such as thistles, sunflowers, zinnia, chinar and dandelions. They are also known to eat arthropods.Breeding
Their breeding season occurs from April to August. They nest in groups with up to five nests in one tree.Nests, which are constructed by the female are neatly constructed with mosses and grasses in the shape of a cup. Nests are located as high as 18m or higher. It lays bluish-white eggs speckled with red and brown. The eggs, which are similar to those of European goldfinch, are about. Cooperative breeding is not known in this species.
The eggs are incubated by the female for 9-12 days; the chicks stay in the nest for 13-18 days after hatching, and are fed by the parents for up to 10 days after leaving the nest.