About Rhodospiza obsoleta (M.H.K.Lichtenstein, 1823)
Rhospiza obsoleta, commonly called the desert finch, has an average wingspan of 26 centimetres (10 in). It features a stout black bill, black and white remiges and rectrices, and a rosy-pink slash on each wing. Adult females are duller in color than adult males, but the two sexes share the same overall color pattern. The desert finch is a resident species of deserts that have accessible water, and it can also inhabit low mountains, foothills, and cultivated valleys. This species only migrates over short local distances. The desert finch gathers near rural and remote human settlements, and well-watered orchards in otherwise arid land make ideal habitat for it. It feeds in large flocks that can consist of only this species or mixed flocks with other finches. Its diet is made up primarily of seeds, with occasional insects. Nesting takes place in trees during the spring, often in fruit trees in orchards. The female lays and incubates 4 to 6 pale green eggs that have light speckles.
