Types of Gouldian Finches

Gouldian finches are tiny birds that are brightly colored with yellow, purple, green, red, turquoise and black feathers. Their bright colors make them an unmistakable type of finch, but there are three subtypes of the Gouldian finch. The three subtypes are named for their head colors. The types are the red headed, yellow headed and black headed Gouldian finch. While both the males and females are brightly colored, the males have brighter versions of the colors.

  1. Types

    • The black headed Gouldian finch are sometimes called black faced finches because the black color is centered on their faces. The black extends below the beak and covers the entire face to the area behind the eyes. The black on the face may be ringed with another color, such as turquoise, yellow or red.

    Features

    • The red headed Gouldian finch has a red face that extends to the area behind the eyes. The area under the beak is often black on the red headed type. This is the dominant head color for Gouldian finches. Females inherit this trait from one gene from their father. Though the red is dominant to the black headed type, in the wild there are more black head types than red.

    Identification

    • The yellow headed Gouldian finch is topped by feathers that are a light orange in color. Though not a true yellow, the light head of the yellow headed Gouldian finch is unmistakable when the bird is sighted, particularly when it is sighted among its darker-headed finch companions. The coloring on the rest of the body, like the other Gouldian finch types, will vary.

    Misconceptions

    • Gouldian finches are classified in these three types, but the only real difference between the types is the color of the feathers on the head. There are no other differences in the finch types. Because there are no other differences between them, different types of Gouldian finches do breed with each other and different types are present in the same Gouldian finch family.

    Considerations

    • The Gouldian finch is a native of Australia. The birds have been prized for many years because of their vivid colors. Because they have been pursued so aggressively, they have become an endangered species. They can no longer be legally exported from Australia, and a recovery plan is in place to protect the Gouldian finch and bring back its numbers.