Sillem's rosefinch (''Carpodacus sillemi''), also known as Sillem's mountain finch or tawny-headed mountain finch is a species of

rosefinch The rosefinches are a genus, ''Carpodacus'', of passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae. Most are called "rosefinches" and as the word implies, have various shades of red in their plumage. The common rosefinch is frequently called the " ...

in the

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

family. It is found only in China and was only known from two specimens collected in 1929 from the

Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of the ...

area of southern

Xinjiang Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autono ...

. In 2012, the bird was photographed 1500 km from the original collection location. This species was originally placed in the genus '' Leucosticte'' but a phylogenetic study using

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

sequences published in 2016 found that Sillem's rosefinch was a

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to the

Tibetan rosefinch The Tibetan rosefinch (''Carpodacus roborowskii''), also known as Roborovski's rosefinch, is a species of rosefinch in the finch family Fringillidae. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus ''Kozlowia''. It is endemic to the Tibetan Platea ...

(''Carpodacus roborowskii''). The

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

therefore moved Sillem's mountain finch to the genus ''

Carpodacus The rosefinches are a genus, ''Carpodacus'', of passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae. Most are called "rosefinches" and as the word implies, have various shades of red in their plumage. The common rosefinch is frequently called the " ...

''. The species is named after Jérôme Alexander Sillem (1902-1986), a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

bird collector who was a member of the expedition that collected the specimens in 1929.

References

External links

Species factsheet: Leucosticte sillemi.
BirdLife International (2007) Sillem's mountain finch Birds of Western China Endemic birds of China Sillem's mountain finch Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Fringillidae-stub