About Poephila acuticauda (Gould, 1840)
Adults of the long-tailed finch, Poephila acuticauda, are around 160 mm in total length. Males weigh between 13.5 and 16.2 grams, while females weigh between 11.4 and 17.6 grams. This species has a distinct roundish black bib covering the throat and upper chest, and a long pointed black tail. Its upperparts are pinkish brown; plumage on the lower breast and abdomen, below the bib, is paler in color. It has a grey head, a white ear-patch, and black lores. It has black patches on its upper flanks, and its rump and undertail coverts are white. Adult beak colour ranges from red through orange to yellow. Males and females have similar appearance, though females may be slightly duller and have a slightly smaller bib. On average, females have shorter wings and tails than males, but all of their measurements, including throat bib size, generally fall within the range of male measurements. In both ultraviolet and visible light, male and female plumage cannot be told apart. A 1999 published study found that male long-tailed finches cannot determine the sex of unfamiliar members of the species unless the unfamiliar bird signals its sex through song. Juveniles have black beaks and shorter tail feathers. Subspecies are distinguished by their bill colour: the nominate western subspecies has a yellow bill, while the eastern subspecies P. acuticauda hecki has a red bill. The long-tailed finch lives in open woodland across northern Australia, ranging from Derby in the northwest Kimberley region eastward to the Leichhardt River in northwest Queensland. Its estimated global extent of occurrence is 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 km2, and the IUCN classifies threats to this species' population as least concern.
