SPARROWS 
387 
524. Common Rosy Finch. grey-crowned leucosticte. pink snow-bird, 
le pinson rose commun. Leucosticte tephrocotis . L, 6-15. A medium-sized sparrow. Seal- 
brown over most of body; black cap; conspicuous 
patch of light grey on face and across nape (Figure 
471); rump, flanks, and abdomen and the greater 
part of the wings w r ashed with light rose. 
• Distinctions. A seal-brown sparrow with 
considerable rose suffusion. Cannot be mistaken 
for any other species known to occur in Canada. 
Nesting, Nest of bark and grass; on the 
ground, between or under rocks at high altitudes. 
Distribution, Western North America. In 
Canada, breeding only in the mountains above 
timber-line in British Columbia and the Yukon. 
Comes in winter to lower levels, and spreads over 
the prairies, sometimes as far as Manitoba. 
SUBSPECIES. Two subspecies of this bird 
are recognized. The type form, the Grey-crowned 
Rosy Finch (le Pinson rose & joues brunes) 
Leucosticte tephrocotis tephrocotis is characterized by having the cheeks and ear-coverts 
brown, like the rest of the body. This is the bird of the main Rockies to central Yukon 
and Alaska. Hepburn’s Rosy Finch (le Pinson rose a joues grises) Leucosticte tephrocotis 
littoralis has the grey of the face extended over the cheeks and ear-coverts, and sometimes 
across the chin. It is the representative of the species along the Coast Range from Alaska 
Peninsula southward. It is not confined to the immediate vicinity of the coast and the 
division between the two forms has not been well mapped. In the intermountain lowdands 
of British Columbia, both subspecies may occur in winter, even associated together in the 
same flock. On the plains, tephrocotis is the bird to be expected though occasional littoralis 
may occur as far east as Saskatchewan. 
A most charming; little bird, spending the summer on the snow edges 
of the highest mountains. In winter it comes in large flocks to the lowlands 
anti even invades the streets of the foothill cities. 
Redpolls (See Plate LXXIX B) 
General Description. Small sparrows with short, sharp bills; crown with a dull 
crimson cap; a suffused black chin-spot; back and flanks streaked with browns, ashy, and 
white. Adult males have rosy breasts and the rump more or less tinged with pink; sug- 
gestions of this tint show in other plumages. 
Distinctions. The small crimson cap is always distinctive. 
Nesting. In low shrubs; nest of grasses lined with hair, often white rabbit or fox 
fur, feathers, or plant-down. 
Distribution. Circumpolar and Arctic in breeding range, migrating south irregularly 
in winter. 
There are two species of redpolls in Canada, divided into five sub- 
species, all so nearly alike that it requires special experience to differentiate 
them accurately. The dividing line between species is very fine, the sub- 
species intergrade, numerous hybrids have been reported, and, as consider- 
able individual and age variation exists, it is only by attention to small 
details that the different forms can be separated. 
The distinctive characters are given more as suggestions than as 
final differentiations. 
Economic Status. See Common Redpoll. 
527. Arctic Redpoll, le sizerin arctique. Acanthis hornemanni. L, 5. Light- 
coloured redpolls wfith unspotted wdiite or rosy rump. Characteristic adults with feather 
edgings light so that a typical bird looks like a Common Redpoll (Plate LXXIX B) seen 
through a white veil, but many birds, even in breeding maturity, show little of this frosting 
and are inseparable from the Common Redpoll except by other characters. 
Figure 471 
Hepburn’s Rosy Finch; 
natural size. 
