Fun Owl Finch Facts For Kids

The owl finch has earned its name for its dual physical features. It is because while this small bird might have a body of a finch, its face resembles that of an owl. Colored black, white, and gray in color, this finch is a very social bird! While finding owl finch birds for sale depends on their availability in your area, these two-toned birds can be regularly seen all across Australia. Mostly focused on the North and the Eastern parts of the region, you can find these birds making a hearty feast of insects and worms, which is their diet in such regions. Do you want to know more about this bird and those related to it? You can read all about the owl finch or the double-barred finch here, or check out other birds related to it, such as the barking owl and the bee-eater.

What type of animal is an owl finch?

A double-barred finch is a type of owl.

What class of animal does an owl finch belong to?

Double-barred, or Bicheno's finch, belongs to the class of birds.

How many owl finches are there in the world?

The owl finch origin and taxonomy discovered by Antonio Arnaiz-Villena et. However, the estimated population of these finches is unexplored.

Where does an owl finch live?

The Bicheno's finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii) is lives in the savannah.

What is an owl finch's habitat?

The owl finch (Stizoptera bichenovii) is an estrildid finch occurring in Eastern and Northern Australia's tropical (lowland) arid grasslands, dry savannah,  and barren deserts environments.

Who do owl finches live with?

The granivorous owl finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii) is a highly sociable bird. However, because their congregations are mostly made up of birds of the same sexes, chaffinches are sometimes regarded as the 'bachelor bird.'

How long does an owl finch live?

The longevity of a robust owl finch bird is estimated to be six to seven years.

How do they reproduce?

Owl finches will build a nest in almost any location. An enclosed woven nest is preferred over a nest basket—the males like building nests and looking for new nesting places to lay their eggs. Short, neat twine or long, fluffy grasses work the best as nesting material. Keep in mind that a finch can get tangled in lengthy nesting material or snag a toe in a netted basket nest and become trapped.

Owl finch birds form pairs for a lifetime.  After owl finch courtship, the female produces three to six eggs, while more is not uncommon. The babies appear to be zebra finch babies, a duller form of their parents and emerge after about 12 days. By the time they reach four months of age, they have molted into their adult feathers. The chicks usually leave the nest once they are three weeks old, but they will stay with their parents till they're 30-35 days old. Owl finches are usually excellent parents. However, if the breeding pair have returned to the nest and have eggs, they may get violent with the infants. Thus it would help if you moved them to some other cage during that time.

At six months of age, owl finches may breed. But it's advisable to wait for at least nine months to a year before owl finch breeding. This offers the owner the opportunity to prepare them for breeding. Finches owls have been observed to breed at younger ages, although this could cause egg binding in female finch.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of this white-rumped Bicheno's finch (bichenovii) bird found in Australia is Least Concern as listed by IUCN Red List.

What do owl finches look like?

The double-barred finch is a munia-like bird,  has a white face with black lines around it, brown throat and upperparts, and white underparts. Another black line separates the throat from the underbelly. A black strip distinguishes the chest from the lower torso beneath the white chest. You can find white and brown patterns on the wings. However, both sexes are identical, while young ones, on the other hand, get a more brownish hue. There is a less common variant with black or brown underparts.

The eye appears black, and the beak looks gray. The black-rumped owl finch is one of the subspecies, and it has a black rump. Certain birds' rumps could be smudgy, not really black, not really white, due to crosses with both the nominate owl finch (with white rump) with black-rumped birds.

How cute are they?

The owl finch is a fascinating and amusing bird with a dark band across its face and white and brown patterning on its wings.

How do they communicate?

The melody is a soft fluting, and the voice is a louder 'peew' or a soft 'yet'. Compared to zebra finches (Poephila guttata), owl finches don't sing as much. However, during three months of age, the male owl finch song begins. This singing is a gentle repetitive song by raising their neck. Female owl finch also singing in their unique way, by a 'meep' sound.

Males of strawberry finch use long location sounds. In addition, throughout pre-mating ceremonial displays, the partners of a breeding pair employ vocalizations.

How big is an owl finch?

The average length of these finches is about 4 in (10.1 cm). The red finch length measures between 4.9-5.9 in (12.4-15 cm). Owl finches are smaller than red finches in size.

How fast can an owl finch fly?

Aside from the fact that owl finches fly quickly, there is little specific information about their flight speed.

How much does an owl finch weigh?

The average weight of finch, the owl bird, is approximately 0.52-0.59 oz (14.7-16.7 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There is not any specific title for owl finch male, female species.

What would you call a baby owl finch?

Young birds of these white-rumped finches owl have no special name.

What do they eat?

You must feed the owl finch a steady diet consisting of high-quality seed and pellets. Owl finch feeding should include lettuce, chickweed, broccoli tops, egg food, and carrot tops in their daily diet. This finch owl species eats live food as well and appears to appreciate a wide range of foods. These white-faced finches may eat a special daily diet made just for them, which includes egg food, mineral grit, and charcoal. Nestling food and prepared, easy-to-make food ingredients for birds would be welcomed additions to their diet. In the wild, these species eat insects like worms. Thus it's a natural source of food for them.

Are they poisonous?

Highly active bird owl finches are not poisonous birds.

Would they make a good pet?

Owl finches are a fantastic pet choice for the first bird keepers because they are amiable, active, and gregarious. When there are more than a pair of owl finches in an enclosure or large cage, at least three pairs are required. Four owl finches can fight and struggle, while six birds would be more peaceful. Many popularly kept bird species, particularly true pairs, fall within this category. Indoor owl finches will benefit from a cage that is as large as feasible. These are little birds, and they're very active. If females do not get enough activity, they may become egg-bound. Together with some coco fiber and grass as nesting material, you must provide a half-opened nest basket in the cage because owl finches enjoy creating their own nests. This finch needs to remain at approximately 60 F (15.5 C), although they like it warmer.

The pet owl finch price is approximately $100 USD. Like other finches owl birds, they also have some health problems like air-sac mite, egg-binding, and scaly face. Finches can become infected with air-sac mites, especially if they are highly stressed. A scaly face (a disease caused by a parasite that manifests as white, scaly regions all around eyes/beak and the legs) could also affect finches. These are major health problems of pet owl finches that need urgent veterinary attention.

Did you know...

Owl finch behavior is intriguing, and they are also energetic small birds. So naturally, they'll inspect any new additions to their flight cage and aviary.

Males and females have a funny meowing call that sounds like a cat.

The saffron finch is among the few bird species with a distinct colored upper beak and lower beak.

How did the owl finch get its name?

A dark band around the face distinguishes the owl finch, sometimes known as the double-barred finch. It provides them the resemblance of a barn owl, earning them the nickname 'owl' finch. Females and males of this species have nearly identical appearances.

What's the difference between an owl finch and a regular finch?

Owl finches have unusual markings due to the dark band of feathers surrounding their faces, and their social behavior gives them a distinct personality.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these eared dove facts and night heron facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable owl finch coloring pages.