Black Rosy-Finch, Silverthorne, Colorado
BLACK ROSY-FINCH IS THE STAR non-grouse on the Colorado spring chicken run. I am so lucky with this bird, never to have missed it but I haven't seen it in the same place twice on each tour and it is emminently missable! With a restricted breeding range it is a true USA endemic - it isn't even on any other country's list as a vagrant! They are almost always in the minority of rosy-finch flocks in Colorado as well, which sometimes makes finding then a challenge, when the finches are resting in pine trees for instance. However, once around a feeding station they do not pass in a crowd and are the smartest of the quartet of North American rosy-finch forms in my opinion. I'm hoping that my present lucky streak holds out for them.