The Pink-Browed Rosefinch Is A Bird That's Almost Too Pretty To Be Real

Some people say the males of this bird species look more like cotton candy than they do a bird and honestly, the evidence is compelling.

Elana

• Published in Animal Stories
• November 6, 2021

What could be more exciting than a bird with pretty, pink plumage? Not many things, I dare say.

The history of the color pink is certainly fascinating, to say the least. It's actually the oldest color pigment, according to scientific data that has been published in the last few years.

As part of her PhD studies at Australia National University, Nur Gueneli discovered that bright pink colors are "more than 500 million years older than the next oldest known pigments" and were "produced by ancient ocean organisms." In a news release, Dr. Gueneli said:

“The bright pink pigments are the molecular fossils of chlorophyll that were produced by ancient photosynthetic organisms inhabiting an ancient ocean that has long since vanished."

CNN reported that to discover the pigments, "researchers crushed billion-year-old rocks into powder, and extracted and analyzed the molecules of ancient organisms within them." Bubble gum, flamingos, and cotton candy are proud to display the world's oldest color.... and so is the Pink-Browed Rosefinch.

The Pink-Browed Rosefinch (Carpodacus rodochroa), is a finch in the family Fringillidae. According to Wikipedia:

"The family Fringillidae contains more than two hundred species divided into fifty genera. It includes species known as siskins, canaries, redpolls, serins, grosbeaks and euphonias."

This absolutely lovely bird is sometimes described to have a raspberry plumage.

The underbelly of the males is a dark pink and the top is a brighter splash of pink.

They often feature a "marroon" crown and the classic furrowed brow that finches are known for.

Also like many finches, this bird is found in many places such as Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmarm Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Finches are not known to be interested in migration, and the Pink-Browed Rosefinch prefers homes in boreal forests, subtropical and tropical high-altitude shrubland.

This lovely bird likes to eat herbs and grasses, seeds, and berries.

While this bird is found more in eastern Europe and Asia, some reports have been accounted for further west. Unforutnately, due to the nature of the cage-bird trade, the origin and nature of such instances is considered hard to assess.

As is common with birds, female Rosefinches are not nearly so vibrant.

Females are brown with streaked underparts, white eyebrows, and lightly streaked pale cheeks and throat

Females build nests during breeding season made of strips of birch-bark, animal hair, and moss. They choose a location about 2 meters above the ground in bush cover.

Like many finches, this bird has a large range and plenty of places to live so despite it's exotic coloring, it is not believed to be at risk or under threat of endangerment.

Check out this pretty bird in action:

The lovely bird, which sometimes resesmbles a ball of flying cotton candy, is about 16–17.5cm in length (6.2-6.8 inches) and is considered "medium-sized" with a long notched tail.

Who doesn't love pink? How cool would it be to see such pretty plumage in person?

Nature never ceases to amaze us, constantly presenting us with opportunities to see beautiful colors, interesting quirks, and fascinating behaviors in the animal kingdom. There is no stopping our desire to learn and see more, it's only human nature.

What is the coolest or most unique looking bird you've ever seen? Let us know in the comments, we love to hear from you.

Elana