/
Forages at all levels of forest, from the ground up into the canopy, often taking seeds from grasses and bamboo.
SA: Near Threatened
At a glance
FamilyWaxbills and Allies
SizeSmall
RarityUncommon
HabitatWoodland, forest edge, flowering street trees, farmland belts, and urban parkland.
Best timeMost reliable in Queensland from January.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Jan-Uwe Schmidt
Range map
Range map
30visible hotspots
233visible records
2states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Colorful small finch, usually found in grassy forest clearings or forest edge habitats, often in close association with bamboo. Favors foothills and montane areas throughout much of its range, but descends into coastal lowlands on small islands and in the far eastern end of its range, on Australia’s Cape York Peninsula. Bright green plumage, with an obvious blue face and red tail and rump. Juveniles lack the blue face and are slightly duskier below. Call very thin and high-pitched.
Behavior
Forages at all levels of forest, from the ground up into the canopy, often taking seeds from grasses and bamboo.
Gallery