Siberian Long-tailed Rosefinch

Siberian Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus) is a small long-tailed finch whose male is rosy red with pale wing bars, while females are brown and heavily streaked. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits temperate forest edges, moist shrubland and grassland across north-eastern Asia, feeding on seeds, buds and berries and making seasonal movements that bring birds into East Asia. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. The Korean vertebrate catalogue used for this guide records the species in South Korea (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Korea occurrence records).