The Diamond Firetail is a small finch, with striking, spotty plumage. They are known for their courtship dance, during which the male Diamond Firetail holds a long piece of green grass in his bill, then flies to a branch where he sits near the female and begins to bob up and down. Bird call recorded by: Greg McLachlan
The Diamond Firetail is a small bird sometimes described as one of the most stunningly coloured birds of the finch family. The top of its body is ash brown with a crown, forehead and neck grey. The underparts are white with a crimson rump. There is a black band across its neck which continues down the flank to be dotted with white. The bill and eye ring are coral, and the legs and feet are dark grey. The female is similar to the male although sometimes smaller. The juvenile Diamond Firetail has a black bill and is duller in colour. They fly low and flocks travel in long lines. Their average size is 12cm and their average weight is 17 grams.
Call a long drawn-out penetrating twooo-hee, with the first syllable ascending and the second descending. Song a long series of low raspy notes.
The Diamond Firetail is endemic to south-eastern Australia, ranging from Carnarvon Ranges in Queensland to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
Habitat: Heathland, Woodland, Grassland
Diamond Firetails are found in open grassy woodland, heath and farmland or grassland with scattered trees.
To safeguard their eggs and nestlings, Diamond Firetails are often recorded building their nests into the base of the large stick-nest of a bird of prey such as a Whistling Kite, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Brown Falcon, Nankeen Kestrel or a Square-tailed Kite. One nest of a Whistling Kite contained nine Diamond Firetail nests! Others choose to build their nests among the prickly foliage of shrubs. Such as hakeas, rose bushes, boxthorn and the sharp-sounding Sea Urchin Hakea, (a deterrent against all but the most thick-skinned predators). Mostly resident or sedentary with some local movements.
Diamond Firetails feed on the ground and generally eat ripe or partially ripe seeds. They occasionally eat insects and their larvae.
During courtship, the male Diamond Firetail holds a long piece of green grass in his bill, then flies to a branch where he sits near the female and begins to bob up and down. When she approaches, he twists his neck around and opens his bill just like young begging for food. The Diamond Firetail builds a nest with green grass blades and stems and lines it with fine grasses and feathers. The nest can be found in trees and shrubs with dense foliage, sometimes in the base of a hawk’s nest. The nest is built by both partners but only the female does the weaving. Both partners incubate the eggs (12 days) and care for the young. The nestling period is 22 days. Usually, only one clutch is laid per season, with clutch size being 5 to 6 eggs. Breeding season is from August to January.
