The blue-faced parrotfinch (''Erythrura trichroa'') is a locally common species of

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "fi ...

found in north-eastern Australia, Japan,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states compri ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

(introduced), New Caledonia,

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Ca ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...

and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km². It is found in subtropical and tropical zones in both montane and lowland moist forest areas, where it is most often associated with forest edges and disturbed habitat. It feeds largely on seeds of grasses, including in Australia several exotic genera especially

Brachiaria ''Brachiaria'', or signalgrass, is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, southern Europe, the Americas, and various islands.IUCN has classified the species as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

Origin and history

Origin and

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...

has been obtained by Antonio Arnaiz-Villena et al. Estrildinae may have originated in India and dispersed thereafter (towards Africa and Pacific Ocean habitats). In the past, due to less developed observation techniques, very few blue-faced parrotfinches were spotted. As a result, they were overlooked in historical surveys and categorized as rare. The first blue-faced parrotfinch was recorded in North Queensland, Australia in 1890.Kershaw J.A. (1918) Australian Green-backed Finch (Erythrura trichroa macgillivray). ''Emu'' 18, 1-1. This specimen had a length of 121 mm (4.8 in). Its wings were 62 mm (2.4 in), its tail was 50 mm (2.0 in), and its culmen was 11 mm (0.4 in). It is now kept in the

Melbourne Museum The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of the Government of Victoria, o ...

. There were other important discoveries of the blue-faced parrotfinch in 1899, 1913, 1914, and 1944, all of which were spotted in north or north-eastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Among the blue-faced parrotfinches in

, one subspecies is ''Erythrura trichroa macgillivrayi'' but its conservation status is unknown.

Description

Blue-faced parrotfinch males are multi-shaded with colors ranging from light yellow-green to dark blue-green. On their forehead and face, there are deep blue feathers, and their tails are generally red to rusty red-brown. In terms of length, they are typically 13 cm (5.1 in) long. On the other hand, the females are covered with a less vibrant blue and are slightly smaller and have more rounded heads. Among the birds found in

, there was no significant difference in

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

, bill shapes, or genetic composition. This is hypothesized to be caused by nomadic behaviors and the continued

gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalen ...

Distribution and habitat

The blue-faced parrotfinches prefer

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

edges and dense grasslands that have

woody plants A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until s ...

, and they prefer to roost in rainforests. They are widely distributed and found at various altitudes, ranging from sea-level on hot tropical islands to 800-3000 m in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

. It is reported that the blue-faced parrotfinches engage in seasonal and nomadic movements, partly due to their cold-sensitiveness. In the winter, they

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

to the lowlands where there is excessive rainforest clearance.

Behaviour

The blue-faced parrotfinches are inconspicuous and timid, retreating to grasslands for cover.

Feeding

Blue-faced parrotfinches feed on grass and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

seeds, small insects, and

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the worl ...

. They primarily consume seeds of ''Brachiaria decumbens'' ( Signal Grass), then the seeds of ''Lantana camara'' ( West Indian Lantana), ''Panicum maximum'' (

Guinea Grass Guinea Grass is a village in the Orange Walk District of the nation of Belize. It is 38 metres (127 feet) above sea level. According to the 2000 census, Guinea Grass had a population of 2,510 people; by 2010 the census figures showed a populat ...

), and ''A. patrei''. They are adaptive enough to eat introduced food sources when they appear. They forage primarily by perching (at an average height of 0.96 m) and less frequently by climbing and

pecking Pecking is the action of a bird using their beak to search for food or otherwise investigate an object or area by tapping it. Pecking can also be used by a bird to attack or fight another bird. Pecking is frequently observed in chickens and other ...

. Due to this, there is not much strong competition between blue-faced parrotfinches and their

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species s ...

species, who tend to forage primarily by climbing. Another reason for this lack of competition is that blue-faced parrotfinches partition food resources with other species by foraging at different preferred

microhabitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

. Blue-faced parrotfinches are generally seen in patches, occasionally with 30 or more birds. The number of finches seen together increases in response to sufficient food resources.

Breeding

The females usually lay an average of four eggs, with a maximum of eight. The average incubation time is 15 days, during which the female does most of the incubation and

brooding Egg incubation is the process by which an egg, of oviparous (egg-laying) animals, develops an embryo within the egg, after the egg's formation and ovipositional release. Egg incubation is done under favorable environmental conditions, possi ...

. Meanwhile, the male is responsible for feeding the nestlings. The nestlings fledge around 21 days and continue to be fed by their parents for 10 to 20 days.

References

External links

Species factsheet
- BirdLife International {{Taxonbar, from=Q1050978 blue-faced parrotfinch Birds of Sulawesi Birds of the Maluku Islands Birds of New Guinea Birds of Micronesia Birds of Melanesia Birds of Cape York Peninsula blue-faced parrotfinch Taxa named by Heinrich von Kittlitz