EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Snowfinch in Stress

Rufous-necked Snowfinch (Pyrgilauda ruficollis), Family Passeridae
Tibet 

Explanation:  If this isn't the roof of the world, it's at least its attic, here at about 15,000 feet elevation, somewhere between Yamtrok and Gyantse in southern Tibet not far from Bhutan.  And here, scrambling over scree, I find this beautiful gem of the high country:  a Rufous-necked Snowfinch.

This snowfinch is a denizen of central to south Asia, attracted to steppe meadow country, pastures, and human settlements.  But here, this one individual seems a bit isolated in a harsh landscape devoid of vegetation, open water, and food.  

Studies have shown that human encroachment and building on this Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have negative effects on the species, particularly how  highway and railway noise shortens the birds' flight avoidance distance (Gi et al. 2011).  

Adding to that human-caused stress is the apparent competition that Rufous-necked Snowfinches face from their larger counsins, White-rumped Snowfinches, in these harsh high-elevation environments.  Both species nest in burrows of pikas, but the larger species gets to choose the better habitats of denser vegetation (Lu et al. 2009).

But still the Rufous-necked Snowfinch persists.  May it serve as a hallmark for how nature itself persists in the face of stressors, as long as some resources and opportunities for survival are present.

Information:
    Gi, C., Z. Li, J. Li, C. Huang.  2011.  The effects on birds of human encroachment on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.  Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 16(8):604-606.
    Lu, X., D. H. K, X. H. Zeng, T. L. Yu.  2009.  Reproductive ecology of two sympatric Tibetan snowfinch species at the edge of their altitudinal range: Response to more stressful environments.  Journal of Arid Environments 73(12):1103-1108.