Brown Bullfinch - BirdForum Opus

Photo by M Kwan
Wuyishan, Jian Xi, China, August 2007

Pyrrhula nipalensis

Identification

16.5cm

• Grey-brown back, nape, head, breast
• White belly and undertail coverts
• Black wings
• Grey-brown wing bar
• Black forehead, lores, edge of chin and tail
• White cheek
• Short dark grey bill

Distribution

Asia: found in China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Bhutan, Taiwan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 5 subspecies:

• P. n. nipalensis:

• Himalayas (northern Pakistan to northern India, Nepal and Bhutan)

• P. n. ricketti:

• South-eastern Tibet to southern China, north-eastern India and northern Vietnam

• P. n. victoriae:

• Myanmar (southern Chin Hills)

• P. n. waterstradti:

• Mountains of Malay Peninsula (Perak, Pahang and Selangor)

• P. n. uchidae:

• Mountains of southern Taiwan

Habitat

Mountain forests. 1300-2400m.

Behaviour

The diet includes seeds and conifer cones.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. birdingintaiwan

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Brown Bullfinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown_Bullfinch

External Links

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