Leucosticte tephrocotis
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The gray-crowned rosy finch or gray-crowned rosy-finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis) is a species of passerine bird in the family Fringillidae native to Alaska, western Canada, and the north-western United States. Due to its remote and rocky alpine habitat it is rarely seen. There are currently six recognized subspecies. It is one of four species of rosy finches.
The gray-crowned rosy finch was first classified by English ornithologist William Swainson in 1832. This bird has been thought to form a superspecies with three other rosy finches (also known as mountain finch): black rosy finch (L. atrata) and the brown-capped rosy finch (L. australis), all of which were classified as the same species as the Asian rosy finch (L. arctoa) from 1983 to 1993. Recent mitochondrial DNA evidence shows the rosy finches are all indeed very closely related and can be easily confused with one another. Along with one Asian rosy finch and two Asian mountain finches, the three North American rosy finches form the mountain finch genus Leucosticte. Alternative common names include: Roselin à tête grise (in French), Schwarzstirn-Schneegimpel (in German), and Pinzón Montano Nuquigrís (in Spanish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch sighting in Glacier National Park on a given day, based on 284 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 82nd most-seen of the 174 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch in Glacier National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to May, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch sightings, Glacier National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Jasper National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Banff National Park (Canada, under 5%).
Same family: Fringillidae
The closest relatives of the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch that you can see in Glacier National Park (family Fringillidae, Finches, Euphonias, and Allies) are Pine Siskin (about 50%), Red Crossbill (about 20%) and Cassin's Finch (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in Glacier National Park (284 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
