Passerine bird native to Australia
The
Gouldian finch
(
Chloebia gouldiae
), also known as the
Gould's finch
or the
rainbow finch
, is a colourful
passerine
bird that is native to
Australia
.
Taxonomy
[
edit
]
The Gouldian finch was described by British ornithologist
John Gould
in 1844 as
Amadina gouldiae
,
[2]
in honour of his deceased wife
Elizabeth
.
[3]
[4]
Specimens of the bird were sent to him by British naturalist
Benjamin Bynoe
, although they had been described some years before by French naturalists
Jacques Bernard Hombron
and
Honore Jacquinot
.
[5]
It is also known as the rainbow finch, Gould's finch, or sometimes just Gould.
[6]
The Gouldian finch is
sister
to the parrotfinches in the genus
Erythrura
.
[7]
Description
[
edit
]
Both sexes are brightly coloured with black, green, yellow, and red markings. The females tend to be less brightly coloured. One major difference between the sexes is that the male's chest is
purple
, while the female's is a lighter
mauve
.
[8]
Gouldian finches are about 125?140 mm long.
[9]
Gouldian finches' heads may be red, black, or yellow. Formerly considered three different kinds of finches, it is now known that these are
colour variants
of one species that exist in the wild.
[10]
Selective breeding
has also developed mutations (blue, yellow and silver instead of a green back) in both body and breast colour.
[11]
There are several "prominent rounded tubercles" with an "opalescent lustre" at the back of the gape. These tubercles are commonly (and incorrectly) described as
phosphorescent
in spite of much scientific evidence to the contrary.
[12]
It is believed that these tubercles simply reflect light and are not
luminescent
.
[12]
Distribution and habitat
[
edit
]
Gouldian finches are native to northern Australia,
[13]
in particular
the Kimberley
and
Northern Territory
.
[14]
Prior to the Australian government's ban on the export of Australian fauna,
[15]
Gouldian finches were exported worldwide, which has resulted in viable captive breeding populations being held in many countries.
[
citation needed
]
Conservation status
[
edit
]
The number of Gouldian finches in the wild decreased dramatically in the 20th century due to human-caused habitat loss.
[16]
[14]
The population went from hundreds of thousands in the early 20th century to 2,500 or fewer by the 1980's.
[16]
The current estimated population continues to be 2,500 or fewer birds.
[14]
Early research suggested that a parasite called the air sac mite was responsible for the species' decline, but the mite is no longer considered a major factor.
[
citation needed
]
The primary threat to wild Gouldian finch populations is an increase in extensive wildfires in the late dry season of its native habitat, which negatively impacts the availability of both tree hollows for breeding, and the seeds that comprise the bulk of the Gouldian finch's diet.
[14]
[17]
Cyclones and climate change have also negatively impacted tree hollow availability in the
Northern Territory
.
[18]
Behaviour
[
edit
]
Outside the breeding season, Gouldian finches often join mixed flocks consisting of
long-tailed finches
and
masked finches
. Flocks can consist of up to 1,000?2,000 individuals.
[19]
During the breeding season, they are normally found on rough scree slopes where vegetation is sparse. In the dry season, they are much more nomadic and will move to wherever their food and water can be found.
[19]
Feeding
[
edit
]
Like other finches, the Gouldian finch is a seed eater. They eat up to 30% of their bodyweight each day.
[20]
During the breeding season, Gouldian finches mainly feed on ripe and half-ripe grass seeds of sorghum. During the dry season, they mainly forage on the ground for seeds. During the wet season, spinifex grass seed (
Triodia
sp.) is an important part of their diet. So far Gouldians have been recorded eating six different species of grass seed, but researchers have yet to find evidence of insect consumption.
[21]
Breeding
[
edit
]
Gouldian finches will usually make their nests in tree hollows. They usually breed in the early part of the dry season, when there is plenty of food available.
[22]
When a male is courting a female, he bobs about and ruffles his feathers in an attempt to show off his bright colours. He will expand his chest and fluff out the feathers on his forehead. After mating, the female will lay a clutch of about 4?8 eggs. Both parents help brood the eggs during the daytime, and it is the female who stays on the eggs at night. When the eggs hatch, both parents care for the young. Gouldian finches leave the nest after between 19 and 25 days and are completely independent at 40 days old.
[22]
Gouldian finches have brightly coloured gapes and call loudly when the parent birds return so that they are able to find and feed their mouths in the dark nest.
[23]
It has been shown that female Gouldian finches from Northern Australia can control the sex of their offspring by choosing mates according to their head colour. A certain amount of
genetic incompatibility
between black and red-headed birds can result in high mortality (up to 80%) in female offspring when birds of different head colours mate. If the female mates with a finch of different head colour, this genetic incompatibility can be addressed by over-producing sons, up to a ratio of four males to one female. This is one of the first proven instances of birds biasing the sex of their offspring to overcome genetic weaknesses.
[24]
[25]
Aviculture
[
edit
]
Gouldian finches are a popular species in aviculture because of their striking colours and low care requirements.
[22]
Gouldian finches get along well with other species of grass finch and some other docile species of bird, such as
waxbills
and
parrot finches
.
[26]
Trapping for aviculture
[
edit
]
In the Kimberley District of Western Australia, where most wild Gouldian finch were trapped for aviculture, it was often reported as one of the more common of the eleven finch species. Until 1977, it was trapped in greater numbers than any other finch. From 1897, when finch trapping started in the Kimberley, it was the most sought after finch by trappers and the most desired by fanciers. Between the years 1934 and 1939, the Gouldian finch was the most exported single finch species. The Perth Zoo exported 22,064 finches of which 12,509 were Gouldian. Private dealers exported 35,315 finches, of which 14,504 were Gouldian. The number of finches taken in the 1958 finch trapping season was the largest for one year, of the 38,649 finches taken, 11,286 were Gouldian. The last licensed trapping of Gouldian finch in Western Australia was on 15 November 1981. In that year's finch trapping season, of the 23,450 finches taken 1,054 were Gouldian.
[27]
However, it is now illegal to export these birds from Australia.
[28]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
The Gouldian finch is used as the basis of the
ViewSonic
logo.
[29]
Gallery
[
edit
]
Gouldian finch mutations
[
edit
]
-
White Gouldian finch and yellow Gouldian finch mutation
-
White-breasted yellow-headed Gouldian finch (left) and black-headed male Gouldian finches
-
Adult male double factor yellow back Gouldian finch
References
[
edit
]
- ^
https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/resrecfiles/GA_19_REC_083_Conservation_of_Endagered_Species_in.pdf
- ^
a
b
Australian Biological Resources Study (6 May 2016).
"Species
Erythrura (Chloebia) gouldiae
(Gould, 1844)"
.
Australian Faunal Directory
. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government
. Retrieved
28 August
2018
.
- ^
"The Goulds, John Gould (1804?1881)"
.
Avicultural Review
.
15
(1). The Avicultural Society of New South Wales (ASNSW). January 1998.
- ^
"Part 1: An introduction to the Gouldian finch ? Planet Aviary"
.
planetaviary.com
. 17 February 2016
. Retrieved
25 August
2018
.
- ^
"Gouldian Finch discovery"
.
GouldianFinches.eu
.
- ^
"The Gouldian Finch ? Chloebia gouldiae"
.
www.efinch.com
. Retrieved
27 August
2018
.
- ^
Olsson, Urban;
Alstrom, Per
(2020).
"A comprehensive phylogeny and taxonomic evaluation of the waxbills (Aves: Estrildidae)"
.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
.
146
: 106757.
doi
:
10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106757
.
PMID
32028027
.
S2CID
211048731
.
- ^
"Gouldian finch - Erythrura gouldiae - ARKive"
. 29 January 2009. Archived from
the original
on 29 January 2009.
- ^
"Gouldian Finch Identification ? Gouldian Finch"
.
www.diamante-de-gould.com
. Archived from
the original
on 7 December 2019
. Retrieved
26 August
2018
.
- ^
Southern H.N. (1945).
"Polymorphism in
Poephila gouldiae
"
(PDF)
.
J. Genet
.
47
: 51?157.
doi
:
10.1007/BF02989037
.
S2CID
38518147
.
- ^
"Gouldian Finch colour mutations"
.
- ^
a
b
McAtee W.L. (July 1947). "Luminosity in Birds".
American Midland Naturalist
.
38
(1): 207?213.
doi
:
10.2307/2421636
.
JSTOR
2421636
.
- ^
Cox, Lisa (4 September 2022).
"Tanya Plibersek urged to save Gouldian finches from NT defence development"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
13 August
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Gouldian finch ? WWF-Australia"
. Retrieved
25 August
2018
.
- ^
"Department of the Environment and Energy"
.
Department of the Environment and Energy
. Retrieved
25 August
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Tidemann, Sonia C. (March 1996).
"Causes of the decline of the Gouldian Finch Erythrura gouldiae"
.
Bird Conservation International
.
6
(1): 49?61.
doi
:
10.1017/S0959270900001301
.
- ^
"Australian Wildlife Conservancy"
.
www.australianwildlife.org
. Retrieved
25 August
2018
.
- ^
Abbatangelo, Ben (11 July 2023).
"Binybara is not just home to the Gouldian finch. It's part of the Larrakia nation. And it deserves protection"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
13 August
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Gouldian Finches or Rainbow Finches | Beauty of Birds"
.
www.beautyofbirds.com
. Retrieved
30 August
2018
.
- ^
"Lady Gouldian Finch Diet Feeding Guide"
. Archived from
the original
on 22 December 2019
. Retrieved
22 December
2019
.
- ^
"Gouldian Finches or Rainbow Finches | Beauty of Birds"
.
www.beautyofbirds.com
. Retrieved
28 August
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
"8 Top Low-Maintenance Pet Bird Species"
.
- ^
Attenbourgh, David.
The Life of Birds
, Episode 9, 3 mins, 55 s.
- ^
Pryke, S.R.; Griffith, S.C. (2009). "Genetic incompatibility drives sex allocation and maternal investment in a polymorphic finch".
Science
.
323
(5921): 1605?1607.
Bibcode
:
2009Sci...323.1605P
.
doi
:
10.1126/science.1168928
.
PMID
19299618
.
S2CID
9348692
.
- ^
"Bird Controls Offspring's Gender"
. Scientific American.
- ^
"Gouldian Finch Personality, Food & Care ? Pet Birds by Lafeber Co"
.
Archived
from the original on 28 August 2018
. Retrieved
28 August
2018
.
- ^
Finch Trapping in the Kimberley, K H Coate and L H Merritt (2015)
ISBN
978-0-85905-621-2
? ref Fisheries Department, table, trapped birds export statistics 1935?1939 22 August 1939, SROWA CONS 477, ITEM 1934-0059; and Department of Conservation and Land Management, table, Annual Finch Trapping Since 1968 1986. SROWA CONS 6437, ITEM 014832F3528
- ^
"Department of the Environment and Energy"
.
Department of the Environment and Energy
. Retrieved
31 August
2018
.
- ^
"Our Vision"
.
ViewSonic
. Retrieved
21 July
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]