Long-tailed Finch

Poephila acuticauda

Wears a long black tail like a tuxedo tie. Australian grassfinch that bonds for life and sings in soft contact calls.

Population: Not quantified by IUCN/BirdLife (no mature-individuals count published); described as common or fairly common with a stable population trend; extent of occurrence ~1,420,000 km²
Habitat: Open eucalypt woodland and dry savannah/dry tropical forest, typically near permanent water, at low elevations (0-600 m) across tropical northern Australia
Fun fact: The Long-tailed Finch is credited with the first documented report of cooperative breeding in an Australian estrildid finch, with young from an earlier brood observed helping their parents raise the next one.
Range: Northern Australia, endemic and resident (non-migratory); from the Kimberley region of Western Australia (around Derby) east to the Leichhardt River area of northwest Queensland
Diet: Primarily ripe and half-ripe grass seeds (e.g. sorghum and other native grasses), supplemented with insects, especially during breeding
Size: 0.16 m
Lifespan: 8 years

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