Long Tailed Finch
Latin Name: Poephila acuticauda
Other Names: Black Heart Finch, Heck's Finch, Long Tailed Grassfinch, Orange Billed Grassfinch

Identification Long Tailed Finch
Jerks head on landing. Male: fawnish-tan. Blue-grey head; black lores. Large black bib. Bill varies from waxy yellow (W Aust.) to orange-red (W Qld.). Long, sharply tapered black tail; white rump; orange legs. Female: smaller bib. Size 14-16 cm. Juv: duller; bill black.

Voice Long Tailed Finch
Call: Loud whistle, 'thwirr' in identification; short 'tet' in close contact; hissing 'whsst' in chases; male whines selecting nest site. Song: Soft flute like whistles in two second phrases.

Habitat Long Tailed Finch
Open woodland and grass near creeks.

Distribution Long Tailed Finch
North-western Australia to north-western Qld.

Nest Long Tailed Finch
Bottle shaped, composed of dried grasses and lined with feathers; built in tall grass, a low bush, or a palm tree.

Breeding Long Tailed Finch
Breeding Season: December to June. Eggs: Five to six; white. Incubation 14 days, by both sexes. Young fledge in 21 days.

Breeders Price Guide (Aviary bred pairs) Long Tailed Finch
(Red Billed) $35 to $40; (Yellow Billed) $50 to $70

Aviary Licence Requirements Long Tailed Finch

Aviary Notes Long Tailed Finch
They prefer an open flight aviary away from cold and drafts.
They can be kept in a collection of small seed eaters. Paired up or as a colony. They are a social bird.

Australian Field Guides

What Bird Is That? - Neville Cayley

Simpson & Day Field Guide To The Birds Of Australia - Ken Simpson

The Slater Field Guide To Australian Birds - Peter Slater

Photographic Field Guide To Birds Of Australia - Jim Flegg

Australian Birds: A Concise Photographic Field Guide - Donald & Molly Trounson

A Photographic Guide To Birds Of Australia Peter Rowland

The Pocket Field Guide to Australian Birds - Michael Morcombe