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24

Beautiful Firetail

(Stagonopleura bella)
Alternate name(s): "Firetail Finch", "Beautiful Firetail Finch"
Size: 11-13 cm
Weight: 12-16 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Beautiful Firetail at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "bella"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Beautiful Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]

Frontal view of a male Beautiful Firetail looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female Beautiful Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]

Close-up near-lateral view of a female Beautiful Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]

Close-up lateral view of a female Beautiful Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]

PAIR

Field guides describe that in the field the sexes of Beautiful Firetails are very difficult to tell apart. The only reliable distinguishing criterium is that males tend to have a larger black belly/vent/undertail patch than females. Some sources also state that males have a larger red rump patch than females (which we have not been able to confirm yet). The photos below show two individuals at almost identical angles.

Near-/frontal view of two Beautiful Firetails; male on the left - note the black belly patch, which is absent in the female on the right (photos courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]

The bird on the left above is greyish, while the one on the right has a more brownish head and back. This may be an effect of age or wear of the plumage, rather than a difference distinguishing the sexes.

Sex unknown

Near-dorsal view of a Beautiful Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Eaglehawk Neck, near Hobart, TAS, September 2021]

Dorsal view of a Beautiful Firetail (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bruny Island, TAS, March 2016]

Race "samueli"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Beautiful Firetail looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Cape Borda, Kangaroo Island, SA, March 2016]

Frontal view of a Beautiful Firetail looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Cape Borda, Kangaroo Island, SA, March 2016]

Near-frontal view of a Beautiful Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Salt Creek, Coorong, SA, April 2022]

Lateral view of a Beautiful Firetail (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Cape Borda, Kangaroo Island, SA, March 2016]

Food, Diet

Adults: Seeds Dependents: Regurgitated seeds Water intake: Daily

Like all other finches known to us, Beautiful Firetails feed on seeds.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

beautyf_20150611.mp3 bella
(Royal NP, NSW)
? © MD

More Beautiful Firetail sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.