More about Aussie finches

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Finches are not unique to Australia but the colourful Australian species, especially the zebra finch, have become very popular around the world. We saw zebra finches in the wild on our trip to Uluru in 2018. My mother also had them in her big aviary. She would bake patty cakes for them (think cupcakes without the icing). Finches are small and live on grass seeds. There are 19 species in total, all belonging to the Estrildidae family. Each has its own unique colouring and there are mutations and variations of colour within each species. They range from 10-14 cm in length (4-5 inches) and, apart from quiet chitterings, they make very little noise. However, they are very timid and rarely form relationships with humans although Gouldian finches sometimes do. The collage shows a Gouldian finch (upper left), star finch (upper right), zebra finch (lower left) and red-eared firetail (lower right). The upper three are the most popular cage-bird species. Photos courtesy of (in order): Martin Pot (Martybugs at en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0, Greg Scales, CC BY 2.0, Jim Bendon from Karratha, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0 and Vince Evans.