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The Afghan snowfinch (''Montifringilla theresae'') is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, endemic to the northern parts of the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. There are a number of alternate common names for this species: it has been known as Theresa's, Meinertzhagen's, or the Afghan ground-sparrow, ground-finch, or snowfinch. There are no major threats to the species despite its restricted range, so it is assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. This species is mostly a seed-eater, supplementing its diet with some insects. It builds its nest in the burrows or hollows of ground-dwelling rodents, lined with hair or feathers. == Description == It is long, weighing . The wingspan ranges from , and bills measure from . Females are slightly smaller on average than males.〔 The male is grey-brown with some white in the wings and a black face-mask and two-pronged patch on the throat. The female is a buff-tinged brown, with a weaker, greyer face mask and less white in the wings. There are short dark streaks on the mantle and a white subterminal band on the tail feathers other than the central pair. There is white on the upperwing coverts, secondaries, and inner primaries. The male has a brick red iris.〔〔 The plumage of juvenile birds after fledging has not been described, but can be assumed to be similar to the female's plumage.〔 The only similar species that occur in the Afghan snowfinch's range are the white-winged snowfinch and the desert finch. It can be distinguished from the former by the smaller white patches on the wings and an overall more brownish plumage. While it is similar in general appearance to the latter species, the Afghan snowfinch is more streaked, has stronger facial markings, and has a smaller bill, among other differences.〔 The flight of the Afghan snowfinch is heavy and straight. The alarm call is a sharp ''tsi'', and they make soft ''quaak'' calls in flight, and a stridulant ''zig-zig''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Afghan snowfinch」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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