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Plumbeous sierra-finch        Images © Mark A. Chappell

South America hosts a number of finches; this is a high-altitude specialist from the Andes, the plumbeous sierra-finch.   Many sierra-finches have yellow tones in the plumage but these are lead-gray (females are a bit paler and streakier than males).   These were at Abra Malaga Pass, at about 4300 m (14,500 feet) near Cusco, Peru.

  • Canon 1D4; 800 mm IS lens plus 1.4X converter, fill-in flash (2104)