Seasonally located in high mountain ranges, Black Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte atrata) breed exclusively in alpine environments where snowfields and tundra facilitate foraging, and cracks in cliffs provide nest sites. They are one of the least studies species in North America, with very little information recorded about their presence in Wyoming.
As a high elevation-obligate that is closely tied to snow pack, habitat and climatic data will be collected to help better understand distribution and assess threats to the state’s highest breeding bird. This in turn will help provide insight for long-term monitoring efforts.
Contact
Carl Brown, masters student
Wyoming Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit
Dept. 3166, 1000 E. University Avenue
Laramie, WY 82071
cbrown85@uwyo.edu
Annika Walters, Assistant Unit Leader
Fisheries / Assistant Professor
Wyoming Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit
Dept. 3166, 1000 E. University Avenue
Laramie, WY 82070
annika.walters@uwyo.edu
office: (307) 766 5473
Project Lead
Carl Brown: Brown received a master’s in zoology and physiology in 2021 from the University of Wyoming studying Black Rosy-Finch and advised by Dr. Anna Chalfoun. He has worked for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, National Park Service, and many non-profits and universities in the intermountain west. MORE »
Funding & Partners
2015 – State Wildlife Grant – Wyoming Game and Fish Department
University of Wyoming Graduate Work Funding
2015 – Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife Fund
Spring Banding and Summer Surveys of the Black Rosy-Finch in Wyoming – Independent Project