Brown-capped Rosy-Finch -- adult or first year, male or female?

[Rosyfinch]

Image courtesy of Loren Hansen




# 2686 LOREN: First year Brown-capped Rosy Finch,  February 24, 2010

KEN: # 2686 has pink wing coverts as has adult female, but also buffy edges to contour feathers as in HY bird-- might this be an adult female BC rather than HY bird? My overall impression agrees with immature BC. Black RF appears ruled out by absence of black, even though the plumage appears quite dark.

STEVE: #2686 is a female Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (BCRF), and probably a formative plumage bird based on the minor amount of pink in the primary coverts and the primaries.  It also looks like the longest upper tail cover is pale tipped suggesting formative plumage.