Birdwatching - 3297🐦

🦉 The common rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus)

• Carpodacus Greek: karpos fruit, daknō to bite
• erythrinus erythros (Greek, lat.) red

No, this isn't a sparrow. It's a young male rosefinch. While still young, he doesn't have the beautiful pink plumage of older males. The red and pink colors come from ketocarotenoids, and due to his age, the young male hasn't yet accumulated enough of this pigment.

How can you tell if it's a male or a female? Males sing! And I managed to capture that in these photos.