Wildlifeof Nepal
Twite
Finches, Sparrows & Buntings
Photo: (c) Нурхайдарова Татьяна, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Linaria flavirostris
Basic stats
Diet
Mainly small seeds, occasionally insects
Habitat
Nest on the ground or low in a bush, built by the female
Range
Strongly disjunct: northern Europe and Asian mountains from eastern Turkey to Nepal, western China and Mongolia
Clutch size
3–6 light or dark blue eggs with dark purplish-brown specks or blotches, mainly at the broad end
Size
13–13.5cm
The twite is a small brown finch, similar in size and shape to a linnet at 13–13.5 cm long. It is brown streaked with black above, with a pink rump in adult males and a brown rump in immatures and females, and buff to whitish underparts streaked with brown; it lacks the red head patch and breast of the linnet and redpolls. The conical bill is yellow in winter and grey in summer (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is a partially migratory species found in a strongly disjunct distribution in northern Europe and in Asian mountains from eastern Turkey to Nepal, western China and Mongolia. The call is a very distinctive nasal twaa-it, from which its name derives, and the song has fast trills and twitters. The female builds a nest on the ground or low in a bush and lays three to six eggs (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What does the Twite eat?
- Mainly small seeds, occasionally insects
- What habitat does the Twite live in?
- Nest on the ground or low in a bush, built by the female
- Where is the Twite found?
- Strongly disjunct: northern Europe and Asian mountains from eastern Turkey to Nepal, western China and Mongolia
- How many eggs does the Twite lay?
- 3–6 light or dark blue eggs with dark purplish-brown specks or blotches, mainly at the broad end
- How big is the Twite?
- 13–13.5cm