It is light brown overall, with a whitish mid-belly, a black cap and a pinkish pattern on the wings and tail.

There are several differences between Asian crimson-winged finches and African birds: Male birds show the following additional differences: This species lives on rocky mountainsides, often at high elevation.

It feeds on seeds, and during the winter descends in flocks to agricultural fields to find food.

[1] The population size in Europe is estimated at 107,000-411,000 mature individuals, comprising about 20% of the global range.

This suggests a preliminary global population of 535,000-2,060,000 mature individuals, though further assessment is needed.