Long-tailed Rosefinch

The male's crimson color is reflected on the riverbed.

Scientific name	Uragus sibiricus
English name	Long-tailed Rosefinch
Japanese name	紅猿子
Class	Aves
Order	Passeriformes
Family	Fringillidae
Genus	Uragus
Species	sibiricus
Full length	15cm
Distribution	They arrive as winter birds south of Honshu, and as summer birds in Hokkaido.

Long-tailed Rosefinch Characteristics and Morphology

These birds are about the size of a sparrow, with a slightly long tail. Males and females have different colors.
The short, powerful beak is a mix of pale flesh color and lead gray. The iris is black. The wings have white and black stripes. The belly is round. The tail feathers are long. The legs are lead gray.

Male

As the Japanese name suggests, the entire body of the male is crimson. Some individuals have a stronger red color than others.
There are white feathers around the cheeks, behind the eyes. The belly is crimson. The flanks are white.

Female

The entire body is a plain brown.
There are dark brown markings around the belly.

Song

The call of the Siberian rubythroat is a "pip-pip" or "fee-fee" sound. The song is similar to that of the Emberiza cioides, and sounds like "chori-chori" or "chiri-chiri."

Long-tailed Rosefinch Ecology

Habitat

They arrive as winter birds south of Honshu, living in grasslands and riverbeds. In breeding grounds, they inhabit grasslands, wetlands, and places with thickets along the coast.

Food

They fly around thickets, eating the fruits of plants such as knotweed with their distinctive beaks. In breeding grounds, they prey on insects.

Life Cycle

They arrive as winter birds.

Long-tailed Rosefinch Photos

Long-tailed Rosefinch Photos are introduced.
Tap the photo to open the detail page.

The remiges have white and black stripes.

The red color is slightly subdued because it is winter.

This is a female with a plain brown color.

The female's face color is also subdued.

Long-tailed Rosefinch Information

Naming

The scientific name "sibiricus" refers to "Siberian," indicating the habitat of this bird. "Beni" refers to the color crimson. "Mashiko" is written as "猿子" (Saruko) in kanji, referring to a red-faced monkey. The name emphasizes the conspicuous crimson color in the thickets.

Long-tailed Rosefinch Found Locations

Riverbed of the Asakawa River, Hachiōji

I discovered them in the riverbed of the Asakawa River in Hachiōji. They suddenly appeared as a pair while I was observing wild birds living in the grass, such as the Daurian redstart and black-faced bunting. The male's crimson color was very beautiful against the reed-colored riverbed.
The female has a plain color, and you may not notice it is a Siberian rubythroat unless you look carefully.

Midstream of the Tama River

Several individuals visited the midstream of the Tama River. They were not very intensely red. They seemed to have stayed for a reasonably long period, from around December to February. When I heard their distinctive high-pitched, short call from deep in the thicket, they flew to a branch near the water.