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Australian Wildlife

  Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii)





Double-barred Finch | Taeniopygia bichenovii photo
Double-barred Finch, Taeniopygia bichenovii

Image by Glen Fergus - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







DOUBLE-BARRED FINCH FACTS

Description
The Double-barred Finch is a long-tailed grass-finch with white face bordered black, distinctively patterned like an owl face. The bird is grey-brown, with white underparts banded black above and below the chest. The wings are black, spotted white, the tail is black and the bill and legs are blue-grey. Juveniles are duller, with indistinct chest bars. There are two subspecies - the eastern race has a white rump and the western race has a black rump.

Size
10cm

Habitat
dry grassy woodlands and scrublands, open forests and farmlands.

Food
feeds on the ground on seeds and insects

Breeding
builds a rounded nest, with a side entrance and short tunnel. The nest is with grass and feathers. The nest is built one to five metres above the ground in thick shrub or tree. Sometimes builds nest in the eaves of a building. Lays 4-7 eggs.

Range
Kimberley region of Western Australia across top end and down east coast from Cape York down the east coast to south-eastern Victoria. The eastern and western subspecies are separated around the Gulf of Carpentaria.

distribution map showing range of Taeniopygia bichenovii in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Estrildidae
Genus:Taeniopygia
Species:bichenovii
Common Name:Double-barred Finch

Relatives in same Genus
  Zebra Finch (T. guttata)