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.
Diamond Firetail ( Stagonopleura guttata Estrildidae)
Description
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 crown, forehead and neck grey. The under feathers 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. This species may also be called the Diamond Finch or Java Sparrow.
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