Classification
Order — Passeriformes.
Family — Fringillidae.
Subfamily — Carduelinae.
Genus — Carpodacus.
Species — Carpodacus erythrinus.
Habitat
Eastern and northern Europe, Asia excluding desert regions. Found in summer in thickets, woodland and forest edges near rivers and in winter in gardens and orchards, wetlands and locally in dry oak woods.
Outward appearance
Length: 13.5–15 cm.
Weight: 21–26 g.
A medium-sized finch with fairly evenly coloured plumage.
Males:
Head, breasts and rumps are bright red with deep crimpson colouring.
Back, tail and wings are brown.
Belly are whitish.
Females and juveniles:
Plumage is pale brown/greyish brown with indistinct streaks.
Beak is short and sturdy with a curved upper edge.
Eyes small, dark and beady.
Beak is thickset.
They have streaking on the chest, two pale streaks on their wings.
Eyes are dark brown and beady.
Legs are dark brown.
Beak is brown.
Feeding
Eats seeds and insects in summer and mostly seeds in winter; forages on the ground or in shrubs and trees.
Features
First-year birds tend to disperse further than adults which explains why colonizing birds are almost always dull-plumaged (young) males.
A group of rosefinches are collectively known as a "bouquet" of finches.
Breeding
Three to six light blue green eggs flecked with brown at larger end are laid in a nest made of grass and stems, lined with rootlets and hair, and built low in a bush or tree, less than 3 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.
Diseases
Stress: the most common cause of feather loss in finches is stress.
Eye Problems / Conjunctivitis: Herpes virus infection; Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis or Blepharitis.
Parasites. Iodine deficiency. Scaly Face Mites. Scaly Legs.
