Sillem's Mountain Finch

The Shillem - Rosy Finch ( Leucosticte Sillemi ) is a poorly understood species of the genus Rosy Finch ( Leucosticte ) within the finch family.

Description

The Shillem - Rosy Finch was long known only by an adult and a newly fledged males, collected in September 1929 by Dutch banker and ornithologist Jerome Alexander Shillem ( 1902-1986 ) and were described in 1992 by Cees S. Roselaar scientifically.

The adult male has a size of 15 centimeters. The wing length is 128 mm, tail length 67.5 mm, the beak length 14.3 mm and the run length 19.7 mm. Head and neck are bright bright lehmgelb or slightly lighter on the lower neck. The base of the beak is pale yellow brown. The top is gray-brown. Worn plumage has yellow-brown tips. Rump and upper tail-coverts are bright yellow white or washed out gray. The tail is dark gray-brown and slightly chipped bright reddish yellow in fresh plumage. In worn plumage, the seams are white. The upper wing-coverts are like stained top. The base of the inner webs of the great coverts and shield springs is sometimes darker; the outer edges of the large coverts are pinkish- cinnamon washed out. The large -coverts and the Daumenfittich are dark gray -brown with black tips. The hand and arm swing are also dark gray brown. The outer webs are narrow skirts lighter gray. The tips of the secondaries and inner primaries are dirty white. Chin, chest and sides of breast are bright cinnamon - buff. The rest of the underside is white with pale yellowish- buff blurring, which is the strongest on the flanks. The under wing-coverts and axillaries are white. The color of the bill is not known.

Distribution, habitat, lifestyle and status

The two specimens were discovered in 5125 m altitude on the westtibetanischen Kushku - Maidan plateau between the rivers Kalakashi He and Yarkant in the southwest of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after a storm in a flock of bullfinches Matt Snow. The wings of the young bird had not yet fully grown. In his notes of 1934 Shillem suspected, therefore, that the type either breed in the vicinity of the type discovery site or near the peak of the Kunlun Mountains. About the way of life nothing is known. In June 2012, a copy was photographed in Yenigou valley to the west of Qinghai Province, which was later identified by experts, including Professor Roselaar than females of Shillem Snow Dupe. The species is listed by BirdLife International in the category of insufficient data ( data deficient ).