Bird Profile: Red browed Finch

The Red browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis) is a member of the same family as the Star Finch and the Plum Headed Finch.  In captivity, it is more commonly known as the Sydney Waxbill or the Red Headed Waxbill, even though it isn’t a waxbill as such. 

In the wild, these birds live in Australia and tend to call the wetter parts of the country home.  They live in vegetation such as mangrove belts and forests beside open country as well as scrubland and even in gardens near the cities.  Its range covers New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and parts of coastal eastern South Australia.  The species has also been introduced to French Polynesia.

Description

These little birds probably are called waxbills due to their bright red beak, red rump feathers and red eye stripe that is similar to some of the waxbill species.  They are colourful in a muted way with the head being a bluish-grey, the back and wings olive and the belly grey.  They are typically around 11-12cm in length.

In the wild, they are found in mini flocks of around 10-20 birds that either live in one place or roam around a small area of about 10km. 

In Captivity

Generally, they live well with others though can become a little aggressive if they are over crowded.  There is also an outside change of cross breeding with Stars and Plum headed due to close family relations.

Source: Wikipedia

They live seeds, particularly grass and sedge seeds but will also make use of any non-native grasses that present themselves.  In an aviary, this translates to a good foreign finch seed diet including millet, canary seed, pancium and Niger seed.  When they are breeding, mealworms or other live food will be important and offer a range of greens and fruit for them to try.  Birds are like people; some things they like and some they don’t so it can be trial and error to get their favourites but their health will thank for you the efforts.

They have been found to appreciate better a planted aviary than a breeding cage as this gives them more room and less chance of feeling crowded.  Also due to their preference for nest building in shrubs, a planted aviary will help them feel at home to do this, as they often don’t use a nest box when offered.

Breeding

The Red Browed Finch is classed as a weaver finch because it builds a large nest that is domed with a side entrance and uses grass and little twigs to do this.  In the wild, the nest is built 2-3 metres above the ground in dense shrubbery and nests are built in colonies. 

Four to six eggs are laid and both parents take their turn at incubating the eggs.  Incubation is usually around 13 days and the chicks fledge at two weeks old.  By the age of one month, they are weaned and self-supporting.  They typically nest from October to April in the wild and can have two or three clutches per breeding season.