The star finch (''Bathilda ruficauda'') is a seed-eating bird species found in northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It has a distinctive red face and bill, and broad white spots down its flanks. One of its three subspecies may be extinct.

Description

The star finch is an

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family (taxonomy), 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. ...

, between 10 and 12 cm in length, with crimson fore-parts of the head and a scarlet bill. The upper and lower

plumage Plumage () 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, there can b ...

is yellow-green, white spotted on the underparts, the belly more yellow. The upper tail coverts are scarlet, tail feathers are brownish scarlet. The female has less crimson on the head, and generally duller than the male, the immature star finch is olive to brownish with a grey face and head. The broad white spots under its chin and down its flanks give rise to its common name. It has a wingspan of between 49 and 56 mm, a bill length between 11 and 13 mm, and weighs between 10 and 12 grams.

Taxonomy and systematics

Synonyms for the scientific name ''Bathilda ruficauda'' include ''Poephila ruficauda'' and ''Neochmia ruficauda''. The species is also referred to as red-faced firetail, red-tailed finch, or ruficauda finch. The common name, red-tailed finch, was first used by Gould (1884) and was in near universal use from

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

(1899) until 1926 when the term star finch appeared in the Royal Australasian Ornithological Union's (RAOU) second Official Checklist with no explanation for the change. Hombron and Jacquinot first encountered these birds when they stopped off in Australia as part the French expedition to Antarctica of 1837–1840, traveling aboard the ''Astrolabe.'' While Hombron initially placed the bird in the genus ''Erythura'', he indicated that the short legs of the bird could necessitate a new genus, Neochimia.

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

adopted the name in 1849. Derived from the Greek, ''neokhmos'' meaning new it signifies "new bird". Gould's species name, ''ruficauda'', is from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''rufus'' meaning red and ''cauda'' meaning tail. Three subspecies have been described: *''Bathilda ruficauda subclarescens'' ( Mathews, 1912) found in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. * ''Bathilda ruficauda clarescens'' (

Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German people, German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married ...

1899) found on the

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

in northern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. *''Bathilda ruficauda ruficauda'' (

Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, an ...

, 1837) found in northern Queensland coastal regions but possibly extinct.

Distribution and conservation status

The

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

of Threatened Species rates this species as Least Concern with a decreasing population because "although its population may be declining slowly (and the nominate subspecies may now be extinct), several large and apparently stable populations remain and it is therefore no longer reasonable to suspect a moderately rapid reduction in the overall population". In contrast the species ''Bathilda ruficauda'' is Presumed Extinct in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and the population is listed as Near Threatened in the Northern Territory. The subspecies ''subclarescens'' has three separate subpopulations, from the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

, Fitzroy River Valley,

Gibb River The Gibb River is a river in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. The headwaters of the river rise between the Caroline and Gibb Ranges. The river flows in a northerly direction until merging with the Drysdale River, of which ...

and Wyndham/ Kununurra region of

to the western part of the

north of the

Victoria Highway The Victoria Highway links the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia with the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. The highway is a part of the Perth– Darwin National Highway link. It is signed as National Highway 1, and is par ...

. There may be 200,000 individuals and the population appears to be declining in density but is common in the Victoria River and Daly River Districts of the Northern Territory and at Kununurra in association with the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. Western star finch is the vernacular name. The subspecies ''clarescens,'' located on the

, has a stable population of about 3,500 individuals but with patchy distribution''.'' Its

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

name is Cape York star finch. Its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

in Queensland is listed as Least Concern. The subspecies ''ruficauda'' is known vernacularly as southern star finch. It is believed to number less than 50 individuals and is possibly extinct. The last reliable sighting was in 1994. Its status under the

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

1999 (EPBC Act) is considered Endangered and its conservation status in Queensland is Endangered.

Behaviour and ecology

These finches inhabit low, dense, damp

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s and sedgelands bordering

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

areas, watercourses, swamps and other freshwater-bodies. They are also found in grassy, open

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

type

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...

woodland and occasionally in towns. Flocks can number between 10 and 30 but can build to hundreds. They are

granivorous Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source,Hulme, P.E. and Benkman, C.W. (2002) "Granivory", pp. 13 ...

, foraging in vegetation just above the ground and they often feed on the ground, particularly in the dry season. They nest in a globe of grass lined with feathers producing 3 to 7 white eggs. The star finch's habitat is threatened by

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

of grasslands, removing essential cover for their survival as well as sources of food and water. Selective grazing of

perennials In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

during the wet season may also remove grasses that are needed for survival during the dry season. Burning of grassland during the dry season may reduce the fallen seed during the wet season and thus reduce the food supply needed by the star finch. This species is also threatened by the cage-bird trade.

Aviary birds

The star finch is a common

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where Bird flight, they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flig ...

bird and are said to be easy to breed. This bird has numerous mutations. The most common is the Yellow Star but others include fawn, cinnamon and pied in both normal and yellow forms. The yellow faced star finches are also called Buddha finches since they are a very peaceful species and the mango yellow resembles a Buddhist monk habit.

References

External links

Species profile
- Finch Information Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Star Finch star finch Birds of Western Australia Birds of the Northern Territory Birds of Queensland Endemic birds of Australia Domesticated birds star finch Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN