page_title: Fiji parrotfinch
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Fiji parrotfinch / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Hideaway resort, Fiji
context_page_description: The Fiji parrotfinch is a species of estrildid finch endemic to Fiji that was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the red-headed parrotfinch. This parrotfinch is a small, mainly green bird with a red head and tail and a stubby dark grey bill. It is found in both forested and open habitats, and has adapted well to man-made environments such as grasslands, pasture and gardens. Pairs have a courtship display in which they fly above the trees in an undulating flight, calling constantly. Breeding birds build a domed grass nest with a side entrance, and lay a clutch normally of four white eggs. Newly hatched chicks are naked and pink, with blue balls at the upper and lower corners of the gape, and black markings inside the mouth; older fledglings resemble the adults, but lack the red head colouring. The Fiji parrotfinch eats seeds, especially of grasses, and also readily feeds on insects and nectar. It forms small flocks of up to six birds after the breeding season.
  Parrotfinches may be preyed upon by indigenous birds of prey such as the endemic Fiji goshawk, or by introduced mammals such as the small Asian mongoose, rats, and mice, and they may be susceptible to disease.
context_section_description: The Fiji parrotfinch is a small finch, 10 cm (4 in) in length. The adult male has a bright green body and wings, red head, and scarlet rump and tail. The blackish feathering of the chin becomes dark blue on the lower throat and turquoise on the upper breast before fading into the green of the underparts. The stubby bill is blackish-grey, the eyes are reddish-brown and the legs and feet are pinkish-brown. The female is very similar to the male, but possibly slightly duller and with paler flanks. Young birds have a dark-tipped yellow bill and sometimes a bluish face which gradually turns red, but the rest of the plumage is like the adult. Full mature plumage is achieved at about 20 months. Some rare individuals of this parrotfinch have the entire head and face blue, apparently due to a natural mutation.
  The flight of the Fiji parrotfinch is fast and undulating with rapid wingbeats, and frequent calling. It tends to fly fairly high, landing in the tree tops, then descending to seek food. Its call is a high, thin seep or peep, similar to those of other parrotfinches such as blue-faced and red-throated, and is often repeated in bursts of varying length. The song is a long whistled double note similar to, but less urgent, than that of the orange-breasted myzomela, a Fijian endemic honeyeater.
  Fiji has another Erythrura species, the rare and endangered pink-billed parrotfinch. This is a larger bird with a green head, blue crown and black face, and a very large pink bill. The Fiji parrotfinch resembles the closely related royal and red-headed parrotfinches, and the rare blue-headed variant is very like the blue-faced parrotfinch, but these three species do not occur in Fiji.
caption: The use of carpet grass for lawns has helped the Fiji parrotfinch to use human-modified habitats like gardens.
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