Beautiful Firetail (Stagonopleura bella)

Don’t call them vain, they didn’t ask to be called Beautiful Firetails……………..even though they are!

The beautiful firetail (Stagonopleura bella) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 1,000,000 km². The species inhabits temperate shrubland habitats in Australia. The ones in the photos were seen in Melaleuca sharing the Orange-bellied Parrots’ food. The beautiful firetail is endemic in Southeastern Australia. Its distribution range extends from Newcastle to Kangaroo Island, however, the bird is most prolific in Tasmania and off-shore islands. It lives in coastal heathland, forests and shrubbery, never far from water. Its preference for near water habitats was shown in a study of its occurrence in intact forest areas of the Victorian Central Highlands, where it was almost exclusively found in riparian habitat. Doing the Melaleuca trip with Par Avion is a great way to see them.