Red--headed Parrot Finch

Parrot Finches belong to the family Estrildidae and are distributed through a rather small range in the Indo Pacific region. There are 11 species of parrot finch, but most of my experience has been with the Red-headed Parrot Finch, Erythrura psittacea, found only in New Caledonia and neighboring islands in the Pacific. New Caledonia has the warm, moist climate of a tropical rain forest and the plant material is rich and varied. The Red-headed Parrot Finch is not a grassland bird, but enjoys a forest habitat where it forages for herbaceous seeds, fruits and insects. The Red-headed Parrot Finch has a beautiful color scheme with the head and throat being bright red, the body bright green and the rump and upper tail coverts red also. The female's red parts are usually less extensive and less bright when compared with the male's. The throat color of a breeding hen is a softer red than in the male. The females usually have less red on the forehead and it does not extend as high on the crown. However, there is a great deal of individual variation in my pairs. I have proven hens with little or no red above the eye and other proven hens with red extending well above the eye, making sexing difficult. The young are color-banded according to heritage for this reason. The fledglings are a dull green color, but easier to sex than the adults. The males have a smudge of yellow-orange on the throat while the hens are just a lighter green color on the throat. The age of the birds has a great deal to do with the successful sexing of the parrot finch. I believe the hens color up faster than the males and at three to four months of age, the hens will appear to be brighter in color. The males, by this time, will be singing their lovely, long trills at dusk if there are other parrot finches within hearing distance to impress.