Crimson Finch
Neochmia phaeton· 梅花雀科(1 photos)
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Crimson Finch
Neochmia phaeton includes
Neochmia p. evangelinae.
12.5-14 cm. Male: bill/face/breast/flanks crimson; back/wings/tail earth-brown, washed crimson; white spots on flanks; underparts black. Female: breast/underparts grey-brown; white spots on flanks. Immature: bill blackish. Both sexes: base of bill pale blue. Race evangelinae, 'White-bellied Crimson Finch': male has white abdomen/undertail-coverts. Pairs, parties, flocks: longish tail flicked up/down, sideways. Forages on ground, long grass; flies up to trees, scarlet rump/tail conspicuous. Adapts to settlement.
- Similar Species
- Painted Finch.
- Voice
- brisk 'che-che-che'; sharp 'chip'. Flocks make brittle tinkling.
- Habitat
- near water: cane-grass, pandanus; paperbarks, crops, tall rank growth, roadsides, gardens.
- Breeding
- Oct.-April.
- Nest
- domed, bulky, of strips, blades of grass, paperbark, leaves; lined with plant down, feathers; 2-16-m in grass, pandanus, paperbark, hollow limb; pineapples, bananas; house eaves, sheds, verandahs.
- Eggs
- 5-6 (8); small, white.
- Range & Status
- race phaeton: from Broome (WA), through Kimberley, Top End (NT), s. to c. Mataranka, e. along Gulf coast to Leichhardt R. (nw. Q); inland to 300-km on streams: e. coastal Q, s. to c. Mackay, inland to c. Georgetown. Common. Race evangelinae: populations e. and w. coast C. York Pen. (Q); endangered. Sedentary. Also s. PNG.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Neochmia phaeton phaeton 2. Neochmia phaeton evangelinae
