About Rhodospingus cruentus (R.Lesson, 1844)
The crimson-breasted finch, Rhodospingus cruentus, is a small finch species that measures 11 cm in length and has an average weight of 11.6 g. It has a short-tailed overall appearance and a long, slender, relatively straight bill. Males have blackish heads with a bright red coronal patch. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are blackish; the throat is red, which deepens to crimson on the breast and fades to a paler red on the lower breast and belly. The vent and undertail-coverts are often whitish with a light pink wash. Fresh plumage shows olive-colored feather tips on the back, nape, and occasionally the face. Males have dark brown irises; the upper mandible is blackish, often with blue-grey cutting edges, while the lower mandible is blue-grey. Their legs are dark greyish. Females are distinctly different from males: they resemble a plain, dull Sporophila finch, but have a longer, straighter bill. Females are pale brownish on all upperparts, including the head, upperparts, wings, and tail, with buffy or pale yellowish coloring on the supercilium, face, and underparts, and brown-washed flanks. Immature crimson-breasted finches are similar in appearance to adult females, and young immature males often show an orange wash across the breast.
