Dark-breasted rosefinch

Dark-breasted rosefinch
Male at 9,500 ft. in Kullu - Manali District of Himachal Pradesh, India
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Fringillidae
Genus:	Carpodacus (but see text)
Species:	C. nipalensis
Binomial name
Carpodacus nipalensis Hodgson, 1836

The Dark-breasted Rosefinch (Carpodacus nipalensis) is a true finch species (family Fringillidae). It is one the most peculiar "rosefinches" and might belong in a monotypic genus Procarduelis, closer to Fringilla than to the true rosefinches.

It is found in Bhutan, China, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Republic of India, Sikkim, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are boreal forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.

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  Male at 9,500 ft. in Kullu - Manali District of Himachal Pradesh, India.
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  Female at 10,500 ft.in Kullu - Manali District of Himachal Pradesh, India
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  Male at 11,000 ft. in Kullu - Manali District of Himachal Pradesh, India

References

• BirdLife International 2004. Carpodacus nipalensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 July 2007.
• Arnaiz-Villena, A., Moscoso, J., Ruiz-del-Valle, V., Gonzalez, J., Reguera, R., Ferri, A., Wink, M., Serrano-Vela, J. I. 2008. Mitochondrial DNA Phylogenetic Definition of a Group of ‘Arid-Zone’ Carduelini Finches. The Open Ornithology Journal, Volume 1: pp. 1–7. (Free download available at http://www.bentham.org/open/tooenij/openaccess2.htm) doi:10.2174/1874453200801010001