Star Finch - Australian Grassfinch

Scientific Name: Neochmia ruficauda

Hen

Cock

Size: 4 - 5 “   Song: Male has a nice whistling melody

Cock:  Dark olive green back and chest, red face mask and beak, under parts olive yellow, small white dots from chin to chest and sides. Stars get their name from their spangled white dots which resemble stars in the sky. Tail dark tapered medium long. Male sings.

Hen: Dark olive green back and chest, red face mask and beak, under parts olive yellow, small white dots from chin to chest and sides. Tail dark tapered medium long. Very similar to the male but has less size on the red face mask. Female does not have a song.

Diet: Finch seed mix, greens, vegetables, fruit, soak seed and sprouts, boiled egg, softfood supplements.  Free choice grit and cuttlebone. Live insects (small mealworms, crickets, wax worms) are enjoyed as a treat. Feed a good quality rearing softfood and boiled egg during chick rearing.

Breeding: Enclosed wicker nest, open nest, or nest box.

Building materials: Dried grasses, coconut fiber, sisal,

nest lined with feathers, sharpi cotton.

Eggs: 4 - 6 small white.  Incubate: 14 days.

Fledge: 16 - 18 days. Fledglings a dull olive gray but the males will begin getting some red face feathers earlier than the young hens.