Gouldian Finch
Erythrura gouldiae
Family: Estrildidae (Waxbills, Grass-finches, Mannikins, 19 species in Australia). Sometimes included in Subfamily Ploceinae of Family Ploceidae
Size: 14 cm
Distribution: Within about 500km of the coast of NT and the Northeast parts of WA and the most NW parts of QLD.
Status: Common
Habitat: Varied; dense shrubs interspersed with grass, near water
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest
The Gouldian Finch is one of the most brightly coloured birds in the world. Some have black faces, and some (like the one pictured here) have red faces.
The Gouldian finch is not found naturally in Sydney or the Blue Mountains, but many people keep them as pets. The photo below was from a pet bird kept in a large aviary. I have included it because it is such a beautiful bird.
Photo: Riverstone, Sydney NSW
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.
Some Birdwatching Resources
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NEW: The Australian Bird Guide, by Peter Menkhorst (Author), Danny Rogers (Author), Rohan Clarke (Author), Jeff Davies (Illustrator), Peter Marsack (Illustrator), Kim Franklin (Illustrator). Revised Edition 2019. Original edition published 2017. This is a newer Australian bird field guide that I just got recently. It may be the best one out of all of them now. Though I still like the pictures better in "Simpson and Day" in terms of their artistic value, and that they just look more interesting to me than the drawings in any other bird field guide I've seen. This one has more "clinical" looking pictures. They are coloured artist-rendered drawings, not photographs. Though the more "clinical" look is meant to be more anatomically accurate, and better for identification.
The rest of the book is wonderful, with different coloured regions on the range maps, and very high quality information overall. It was the winner in its category for an Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) award for book of the year in 2018.
Purchase from Australia (Booktopia)
Purchase from Australia (Angus & Robertson)
Purchase from Australia (The Nile)
Purchase from Australia (Fishpond)
Purchase from Amazon.com (USA Site)
Purchase from Amazon.com.au (Australian Site)
| See AlsoAustralian Bird Field Guides
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