I photographed this elegant western finch on two occasions but I failed to combine good lighting with good views but I am pleased with what I have.

This is the first Nova Scotia confirmed record although the bird may have visited before and been unseen or misidentified.

This is a tough bird and has a good chance to survive our winter especially with all the help its getting from the home owner.

Gray-crowned rosy finch
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Fringillidae
Subfamily:	Carduelinae
Genus:	Leucosticte
Species:	L. tephrocotis
Binomial name
Leucosticte tephrocotis (Swainson, 1832)
Synonyms
Linaria tephrocotis Swainson, 1831[2]

The gray-crowned rosy finch or gray-crowned rosy-finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis) is a species of passerine bird in the family Fringillidae native to Alaska, western Canada, and the north-western United States. Due to its remote and rocky alpine habitat it is rarely seen. There are currently six recognized subspecies. It is one of four species of rosy finches.

Taxonomy

 

The gray-crowned rosy finch was first classified by English ornithologist William John Swainson in 1832.^[1] This bird has been thought to form a superspecies with three other rosy finches (also known as mountain finch): black rosy finch (L. atrata) and the brown-capped rosy finch (L. australis), all of which were classified as the same species as the Asian rosy finch (L. arctoa) from 1983–1993.^[3][4][5] Recent mitochondrial DNA evidence shows the rosy finches are all indeed very closely related and can be easily confused with one another.^[6] Along with one Asian rosy finch and two Asian mountain finches, the three North American rosy finches form the mountain finch genus Leucosticte. Alternative common names include: Roselin à tête grise (in French), Schwarzstirn-Schneegimpel (in German), and Pinzón Montano Nuquigrís (in Spanish).^[7]

Grey-crowned Rosy Finch

Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 100 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 101 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 102 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 103 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 104 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 105 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 106 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 107 Grey-crowned Rosy Finch 108