General Description: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis) are plump, pink finches of the very high mountains. Sometimes they are referred to (with other species of Rosy-Finch), as "mountain finches" to separate them from lower-elevation finches.

In breeding plumage, the bill is black, the back of the head is gray, the forehead is black, and the wings and body have a brown undertone washed in pink. During winter, the bill is yellow, the back of the head is gray, and the wings and body remain pink, but the colors are duller with more brown undertones. Juveniles are gray.

Taxonomy: Passeriformes, Fringillidae, Carduelinae. The taxonomy currently is in flux, and the three North American species may be lumped into only one species.

Favored Habitat: High mountains above timberline during summer, somewhat lower during winter, but never low elevations.

Where to Find: Don't look for Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California year-round and in other high mountains from central California to Colorado and points north during winter. Most populations breed in Alaska and western Canada, then winter in the Lower 48.