Family: Fringillidae, Finches view all from this family

Description 5 1/2-6 1/2" (14-17 cm). Male is dark blackish-brown, with conspicuous gray cap, black forehead, and much pink on belly, rump, wings, and tail. Female is browner, showing some pink, and may not have gray cap. Bill yellowish in both sexes.

Habitat Alpine tundra and meadows; winters in nearby lowlands.

Nesting 3-5 white eggs in a cup nest placed in a hole in a vertical cliff.

Range Breeds in Rocky Mountains of southwestern Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, northeastern Nevada, and northern Utah. Winters south to northern Arizona and New Mexico.

Voice   A variety of low cheep notes are used in various situations: as a contact call in flight and in proclaiming an occupied nesting territory.

Discussion In winter, when mixed flocks of rosy-finches roam the highlands of the Great Basin, Blacks and Gray-crowns are seen roosting together in caves or abandoned mine shafts, in barns, or under bridges.