Double-barred Finch

Stizoptera bichenovii

Two crisp black chest bars and an owl-like white face. Drinks by sucking like a straw, rare among finches.

Population: Global population size unquantified; species described by BirdLife/IUCN as common to locally common with a stable population trend
Habitat: Dry savanna, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland, dry open woodland, and disturbed/artificial habitats such as gardens, arable land and pastures; occurs from sea level to about 1,390 m
Fun fact: Nicknamed the "owl finch" for the dark ring of feathers encircling its face, the Double-barred Finch was moved in 2020 from the genus Taeniopygia into the resurrected monotypic genus Stizoptera (first named by Oberholser in 1899) after molecular phylogenetics showed Taeniopygia was not monophyletic.
Range: Endemic to Australia; extremely large range (~5,450,000 km²) as a resident breeding species across northern and eastern Australia, from northwest Western Australia and the Northern Territory across Cape York and Queensland to southeastern New South Wales and northern Victoria (two subspecies: nominate bichenovii in the east, annulosa in the north/northwest)
Diet: Granivorous, feeding mainly on grass and other small seeds, foraging on the ground and in low vegetation, usually in flocks
Size: 0.105 m
Lifespan: 5.4 years

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