Aust birds    Bird names   News   1-26    Habitats    Key plants    Glossary    Plumage    Nests    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Sponsors    Photos for sale   
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14 15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   W   Y  

24

Painted Finch

(Emblema pictum)
Alternate name(s): "Painted Firetail", "Painted Firetail Finch",
"Emblema", "Emblema Finch", "Mountain Finch"
Aboriginal name(s): "unchurunquar"

Size: 10.5-11.5 cm
Weight: 10-12 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 Painted Finch at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Painted Finch looking sideways; note the extensive red facial mask and frontal markings (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Near-lateral view of a male Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Near-lateral view of a male Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of a male Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of a male Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of a male Painted Finch (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Simpsons Gap, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a male Painted Finch (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Simpsons Gap, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Painted Finch; note the subdued facial mask and black front with copious white spots
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Simpsons Gap, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]

Near-frontal view of a female Painted Finch (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Simpsons Gap, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]

Lateral view of a female Painted Finch on rocky soil (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Desert Wildlife Park, Alice Springs, NT, June 2006]

Lateral view of a female Painted Finch on rocky soil, now seen preening (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Desert Wildlife Park, Alice Springs, NT, June 2006]

PAIR

Frontal view of a pair of Painted Finches, male on the right (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Simpsons Gap, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]

Male, right, and female Painted Finch (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Simpsons Gap, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]

Male Painted Finch, front, female at far left, in comparison with a Zebra Finch (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Simpsons Gap, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]

(Near-)lateral view of 3 juvenile Painted Finches (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]

Lateral view of a juvenile Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]

Lateral view of a juvenile Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a preening juvenile Painted Finch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]

Behaviour

Painted Finches have been found by us using primarily two postures, alert and relaxed, as shown below.

Near-frontal view of a male Painted Finch in alert stance (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Near-lateral view of a male Painted Finch in alert stance (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of a male Painted Finch in alert stance (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Near-frontal view of a male Painted Finch in relaxed stance (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Near-lateral view of a male Painted Finch in relaxed stance (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

Food, Diet

Painted Finches foraging between rocks (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Desert Wildlife Park, Alice Springs, NT, June 2006]

Lateral view of a male Painted Finch drinking water (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Isa, QLD, July 2021]

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.

pntfnch_me_20210722.m4a (W QLD) Contact calls? © ME

More Painted Finch 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.