Distribution and Habitat

It breeds in southern Europe, Iran, Central Asia, the Himalayas, southern Far East, China, and Taiwan, and moves to lowlands in the winter. It is classified into 9 subspecies geographically. It is a rare winter visitor to South Korea, and it commonly breeds around the heights of Baekdu-san Mountain in North Korea.

Behavior

It lives near bare mountain areas and rocks in valleys. It rarely sits on branches, preferring rocks instead. It eats insects, arachnids, and plant seeds. It flaps its wings fast and skims above on the rocks when flying. They are often very confiding and can sometimes be approached to a close distance.

Characteristic

It is dark gray from the head to the breast. There is a white and black pattern under the eyes and throat. The primary coverts, median coverts, and greater coverts have white patterns on the edges.

Juvenile

The head is grayish brown, and the base of bill is pink.