Tibetan Serin Serinus thibetanus
Etymology:
- Serinus : French word for Serin, Canary
- Thibetanus: From Tibet
Distribution in India: Winter visitor in Central and Eastern Himalayas.
Description: Size of 15 cm. It is a medium-sized to large grey or grey-brown finch. The male has bright tawny-cinnamon on head and neck, slightly paler on lower neck, with pale buff around base of bill. The upperparts are drab grey, feathers tipped buff in worn plumage, rump and uppertail-coverts is isabelline-white or washed greyish. The tail is dark drab grey, narrowly fringed pale pinkish-buff in fresh plumage (fringes white when worn). The upperwing-coverts are like upperparts, bases of inner webs of greater coverts and tertials are sometimes darker, outer edges of greater coverts are washed pale pinkish-cinnamon. The primary coverts and alula are dark drab grey, tipped blackish. The flight-feathers are also dark drab grey, outer webs narrowly fringed paler grey, tips of secondaries and inner primaries off-white. The chin to breast and side of breast are pale cinnamon-buff. Rest of underparts are white with pale yellowish-buff wash, heaviest on flanks; underwing-coverts and axillaries are white. The female has similar pale ground colours and many streaks in upperparts and breast, as well as a yellow bill. The juvenile male has upperparts heavily streaked pinkish-buff and dark grey-brown; rump is less streaked pale buff and grey-brown, uppertail-coverts are uniformly drab grey with slight darker streaking, tail as on adult male. The lesser and median upperwing-coverts are drab grey with pale cinnamon-grey tips, rest of wing as on adult, sides of head and neck are mottled off-white or pale buff and grey-brown, chin is white, throat to breast and upper flanks are white with broad and poorly defined grey-brown shaft streaks, rest of underparts as on adult.
Habitat: It is found at 5000 m on high barren montane plateaus.
Food habits: It eats fresh leaves and stems of the cushion plant.
Breeding habits: They breed in mid-Jun and Aug.