Rosy finches are medium-sized songbirds of the American West that are among the most prized and most elusive quarry of avid birdwatchers. Since they nest at higher elevations than all other North American birds, rosy finches are especially difficult to observe during the warmer months. Come winter, they form large, mixed flocks and often appear in mountain towns and at ski resorts, where they feast on human handouts; during periods of heavy snow, some flocks descend to lower elevations, roosting in the crevices of rock-walled canyons.
Of the three rosy finches in North America, only the brown-capped species breeds in the mountains of Colorado; indeed, one of the best places in North America to observe this finch is at Summit Lake, along the Mt. Evans road, west of Denver. Gray-crowned rosy finches breed in mountains of the Pacific Northwest while black rosy finches summer in the high mountains of northern Utah, western Wyoming, Idaho and western Montana. Generally nesting on cliffs near open tundra, rosy finches feed on the ground, scouring alpine grasslands and snowfields for windblown seed.
During winter and early spring, all three species inhabit the high country of Colorado and, as above, are best found in mountain towns or at ski resorts; feeders at the Loveland Basin Ski Resort (at the east entrance to the Eisenhower Tunnel, on I-70) provide one of the better sites to find them close to Denver. Should severe winter weather envelop the mountains, these hardy but erratic wanderers may descend to the foothills, turning up in towns such as Estes Park, Morrison (Red Rocks Park), Woodland Park and La Vita.
