Birdwatching in Thailand: White-winged Dicot (Eophona migratoria)

The white-winged shovel (Eophona migratoria) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae with a thick beak. In English, the bird is called Chinese Grosbeak, sometimes translated as Chinese hawfinch, Chinese cardinal or yellow-billed weed.

The bird is 15 to 18 cm long and weighs 40 to 57 grams. It is a medium-sized finch similar in size to the Hawfinch but with a longer, forked tail.

It breeds in the forests of Russia, the Far East, China, Manchuria and Korea. In winter, the bird migrates to the southern parts of China, Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

The male has a black head. Furthermore, the bird is mainly pale grey-brown. The back and rump are pale grey, the upper tail coverts are white above and black at the tail end. The wings are black with white tips on the wing feathers. The female lacks the black head and is otherwise slightly duller gray. Both sexes have a yellow bill.

It is a bird that lives on the edges of natural deciduous forests with oak, birch, alder and beech, as well as orchards and parks, including parks in large cities.