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Red-eared Firetail (Stagonopleura oculata) Alternate name(s): "Red-eared Firetail Finch", "Red-eared Finch"; Misnomer: "Zebra Finch*" Aboriginal name(s): "boorin", "dwerdengolngani", "djiri" Size: 11-13 cm Body mass: 12-15 g

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Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Red-eared Firetails are small to medium-sized finches. They have a small black facial mask around lores and eyes, with prominent pale-blue eye-rings. The rest of the head and front, from throat to chest, is neatly barred dark-grey on lighter-grey. The belly is boldly spotted white on brown background. The back, including the wings, is more brownish-grey and only inconspicuously barred darker-grey. The rump and uppertail coverts are crimson. Male Red-eared Finches have deep-scarlet patches on their ear coverts, those of females are orange-scarlet. The eyes of both sexes have black irises. The bill is red; the legs and feet are pinkish-grey. Immature Red-eared Firetails already have a red bill and greyish plumage, but no white spots on the front and no red spots behind the ears yet. Juveniles have brownish colours, only indistinct barring and a dark bill.

Taxonomy, classification See Red-eared Firetail at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Red-eared Firetail is available HERE . Red-eared Firetails are endemic to the south-western (near-)coastal fringe of WA. They populate only a 100-200 km deep area from near Perth, WA, southwards to the SW tip of WA and in a narrower margin along the South coast of WA to about Cape Arid. Red-eared Firetails have a preference for the undergrowth in dense forest and thickets in gullies and coastal heath and scrub.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Greaves reports spotting Red-eared Firetails at Balingup, WA, in May 2016, where they were found nesting at the time. Another group of Red-eared Firetails was found at Moses Rock, WA, in December 2016. The species was also found at Cheynes Beach, Albany, WA, in June 2020. J. Ovenden reports finding a Red-eared Firetail in Denmark, WA, in December 2017. M. Mearns reports finding Red-eared Firetails at Stirling Range NP, WA, in August 2018. M. Eaton spotted Red-eared Firetails in Margaret River, WA, in April 2019.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Red-eared Firetail; note the high colour contrast in the facial mask (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a male Red-eared Firetail; note the scarlet patches on the ear coverts (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Balingup, WA, May 2016]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Moses Rock, WA, December 2016]

Close-up lateral view of a male Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Moses Rock, WA, December 2016]

Lateral view of a male Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of a male Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Balingup, WA, May 2016]

Lateral view of a male Red-eared Firetail, now seen preening (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Balingup, WA, May 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a male Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Moses Rock, WA, December 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a male Red-eared Firetail, now seen preening (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Balingup, WA, May 2016]

FEMALE

Frontal portrait of a female Red-eared Firetail; note the comparatively pale bill and patches on the ear coverts
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Moses Rock, WA, December 2016]

Frontal view of a female Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Near-lateral view of a female(?) Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Stirling Range NP, WA, August 2018]

Lateral view of a female(?) Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Stirling Range NP, WA, August 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a female Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Clan of Red-eared Firetails in a dead shrub; the bird on the lower left is probably a female (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Moses Rock, WA, December 2016]

Sex unknown

Dorsal view of a Red-eared Firetail (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a sub-adult Red-eared Firetail; note the absence of the prominent frontal spots and red spot behind the eye, while this bird does not have the brownish colours and dark bill of a juvenile (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Cheynes Beach, Albany, WA, February 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile Red-eared Firetail; note the still dark bill and the absence of both facial markings and the red spot behind the ear (photo courtesy of J. Ovenden)
[Denmark, WA, December 2017]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Jan

Eggs: 4 - 6

Incubation period: 12 - 14 days

Fledging age: 21 - 24 days

Usually most of the breeding is done in October/November, but it is more extended if/when two broods are brought up.

Nest building: Male & female

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Dome

Material: Root fibres, grass stems, twigs, webs

Height above ground: 2 - 15 m

Red-eared Firetail near the entrance to its nest (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Balingup, WA, May 2016]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 18 x 12 mm

Colour: White

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a Red-eared Firetail peeling seeds (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Lateral view of a Red-eared Firetail peeling seeds (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Margaret River, WA, April 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Red-eared Firetail on a water bowl (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Cheynes Beach, Albany, WA, June 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Red-eared Firetail scooping up water (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Cheynes Beach, Albany, WA, June 2020]

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.

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