White-winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis) [XC569035]
by Stanislas Wroza from Le Reposoir, Haute-Savoie, Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes, France (song)
White-winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis) [XC184176]
by Michele Peron from Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es National Park (near Bagn\u00e8res-de-Bigorre), Hautes-Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es, Midi-Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es, France (song)
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Black-winged Snowfinch (Montifringilla adamsi) and Tibetan Snowfinch (Montifringilla henrici), and all have in the past sometimes been considered conspecific. Subspecies are geographically isolated from one another, and it is suggested that, in absence of gene flow, several are well towards achieving full species rank.
The following 7 subspecies are recognised:
nivalis (Linnaeus, 1766) - Southern Europe from northern Spain, Pyrenees, the Alps and Corsica east to Greece.
leucura Bonaparte, 1855 - Southern and eastern Asia Minor.
alpicola (Pallas, 1811) - Caucasus, and northern Iran east to Afghanistan.