Beautiful firetail. Credit: David Cook Wildlife Photography

The beautiful firetail is named for its stunning crimson rump peaking from beneath its grey-brown plumage. A small stocky finch, it is about 13 centimetres long, with a black mask and white eye ring, a red beak, and exquisite, fine barring on the feathers.

Where

The beautiful firetail has been seen around Booderee’s swamp and heath areas, such as Blacks Waterhole and Ryans Swamp, and on the Telegraph Creek Nature Trail. However, it is one of our rarer birds so please do let a ranger know if you see one!

Feeding

Beautiful firetails love moist vegetation and make their homes in heath and scrub - never far from water. Usually seen in pairs or small family groups, they mainly eat seeds of the casuarinas and tea trees but will also eat small insects and snails.

Breeding

The nest of the firetail is shaped like a bottle lying on its side, with a long tunnel leading to a round egg chamber. Both parents build the nest in dense foliage near the ground, lining thin grass stems with feathers and the parents share incubation of the eggs and care of the young fledglings.

Sounds

Listen for their calls - an undulating whee-ee-ee and a soft chrrt.