Spice Finch
Latin Name: Lonchura punctulata
Other Names: Nutmeg Mannikin, Scale Finch, Spice Bird, Spotted Munia

Identification Spice Finch
Bill grey; head and throat chocolate-brown. Upperparts grey-brown. Underparts dull-white, scalloped dark brown. Size 11 cm. Juv: brownish-yellow below. flicks tail constantly.

Voice Spice Finch
'Ki-ki-te-te'.

Habitat Spice Finch
Reeds, rank grass, scrub areas, grasslands, orchards and cultivation paddocks. In flocks.

Distribution Spice Finch
They are found in India, Sri Lanka, South East Asia, China, Taiwan, the Sundas, the Celebes and the Philippines. introduced into Australia. Sydney, Brisbane, and parts of eastern Queensland.

Nest Spice Finch
Globular, compactly built, with an entrance at the side, sometimes with the seeding heads of grasses protruding and forming a veranda; composed outwardly of blady-grass and course grasses mixed with leaves, and lined with fine grasses; usually built in a small shrub or a bushy tree.

Breeding Spice Finch
Breeding Season: September to February. Eggs: Four to eight; white, rather elongated oval. Incubation 14 days, by both sexes. Young fledge in about 21 days.

Breeders Price Guide (Aviary bred pairs) Spice Finch
$20 to $30

Aviary Licence Requirements in Qld Spice Finch
No licence required.

Aviary Notes Spice Finch
They will live in any sized aviary. They can be kept in a collection of small seed eaters. They can be paired up or as a colony. A lot of time is spent on the ground.

Australian Field Guides

The Field Guide To The Birds Of Australia - Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight Save 33%

Field Guide To Australian Birds - Michael Morcombe Save 22%

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