Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches live in the western U. S., western Canada and Alaska, often at quite high altitudes, but in recent months there have been some eastern records...including Virginia's first at a rocky overlook at 4,000 feet on Mt. Pleasant in Amherst County a few days ago! This stunning frontside photo, by Nancy Barnhart, was from Feb 11. The backside view is my photo from Feb 13.
Rosy-Finches nest in rocky crevices and interestingly, from Kaufman's "Lives of North American Birds," they eat, in addition to berries and seeds, insects that are carried up to higher elevations by updrafts and then freeze!
Brian Taber
