The Red-headed Finch (Amadina erythrocephala) (also known as the Paradise Finch or the Red-headed Weaver) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa.
They have quite a large range in southern Africa. I found this one while driving through Etosha NP in Namibia.
It’s hard to find video clips of non-captive birds as this species seems to be very popular as aviary birds, but here’s one!
The Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton) is commonly found in moist savannah, and subtropical/tropical (lowland) moist shrubland. They range in colour, some are more crimson-y than others as you will see in the links below. These are less crimson-y.
A male?
A female?
They range from far Western Australia-Kimberley across to northern parts of Northern Territory and Gulf Country and on to the east coast of Far North Queensland. I got a glimpse of them on the Yellow Waters Cruise in Kakadu, saw some in the bush near Windows on the Wetlands and a closer look at Fogg Dam.
Look how bright these guys are! My photos are duller but maybe it’s just my lack of skills.
The ones I saw were more like this.
The Long-tailed Finch (Poephila acuticauda) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia; also known as the Blackheart Finch, Shaft-tail Finch, Heck’s Grassfinch, Heck’s Grass Finch, and Heck’s Finch.
They have a large range across northern Australia. I saw them very well at the finch spot on Edith Falls Road in the Northern Territory.
Foraging in the grass.
Drinking water
Small flock in Mataranka
The Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae), also known as the Lady Gouldian Finch, Gould’s Finch or the Rainbow Finch, is a colourful passerine bird endemic to Australia.
I took these close ups a few years ago at the Rainbow Jungle in Kalbarri, WA, at least they’re my shots and not a Wikipedia shot!
And here’s a flock of juvenile Gouldians at the Edith Falls Road spot.
They are endemic to northern Australia with small populations in the Northern Territory and north-western Queensland. The best place to see them is the hotspot near Edith Falls Road. There is a detailed hand-drawn map in this book that I can’t print here for copyright reasons.
I wish a flock like this would come in my back yard! Watch for the red-heads.
Joining other finches at a watering hole.
Mini-doco on Gouldian Finches.
We first visited Edith Falls a few days before but didn’t really know where the best birding spots were. Now that I had the “Top End Birdwatching” book, it was easy to find the place where Gouldian Finches are best seen. It’s not down near the caravan park where we were before. It’s a few kms off the main road.
A small flock of young Gouldian Finches, a couple of them were starting to get the adult colouring.
Long-tailed Finches were also plentiful here.
And Double-barred Finches.
Should I bathe here?
Mike Reed, the author of “Top End Birdwatching” was there, we were lucky to meet him here!
We didn’t get there at the optimal time as we spent the early morning birding around the Victoria River Roadhouse, but it was still worth a try. Humbles Creek is about 15 km from the main road going south on the Buntine Highway.
Red-tailed Black Cockatoos showed well.
Road can sometimes be flooded in the wet season.
It was getting hot and these Galahs were taking a break.
A Crested Pigeon was hiding.
Apostlebirds watching us watch them.
Bad photo, can’t make this one out.
We left around 11am and drove back to Katherine after spending the night at Victoria River. I was hoping for finches and mannikins but we should have gotten there earlier. This would be on my list of places to go back to the next time we are in the Territory.
The Red pileated Finch (Coryphospingus cucullatus), also known as the Red-crested Finch, is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae.
They have a huge range in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, and Peru, on the eastern side of the Andes. I saw them in Chapada do Guimaraes which seems to be a hot spot for them.
This looks like a wild bird that someone is putting food out for.
The Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis) is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species has also been introduced to French Polynesia. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savannah habitats. It may also be found in dry forest and mangrove habitats in tropical region.
They have a huge range throughout Eastern Australia. If you stay at Banjo’s Retreat, they are on the property. Also look for them in grasslands just about anywhere in their range.
Stunning close-ups of this very cute finch!
The Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii) is an estrildid finch found in dry savannah, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia. They are sometimes referred to as Bicheno’s finch; and also as owl finch, owing to the dark ring of feathers around their faces.
The name of the species commemorates James Ebenezer Bicheno, a colonial secretary of Van Diemen’s Land appointed in September 1842.
I saw these guys at the Edith Falls Campground in the Northern Territory.
And these are from Wikipedia
They have a good sized range in Australia but to date the only places I have seen them is Mosquito Creek Road near Lake Coolmunda and Edith Falls in the Northern Territory.
Up close and personal with Double Barred Finches, very cute little bird!
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.
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Mike Grant has some stunning up close footage of Beautiful Firetails on YouTube.