Blue-faced Parrotfinch - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Geoff Jones
Mount Lewis, Queensland, Australia, February 2008

Erythrura trichroa

Identification

12cm

• Green body
• Yellow abdomen
• Blue head
• Red lower rump and upper tail coverts
• Brown iris and feet
• Black bill
  

Female: duller blue head.

Distribution

Southeast Asia and Australasia
South-east Asia: Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sulawesi, Moluccas
Australasia: Papua New Guinea, Australia: Queensland, Melanesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 11 subspecies:

• E. t. sanfordi: Sulawesi (Latimojong Mountains and Lore Lindu National Park)
• E. t. modesta: Northern Moluccas (Ternate, Tidore, Halmahera and Bacan)
• E. t. pinaiae: Southern Moluccas (Seram and Buru)
• E. t. sigillifera: New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago
• E. t. macgillivrayi: North-eastern Queensland (Cape York to about Cairns)
• E. t. eichhorni: St. Matthias Islands (Bismarck Archipelago)
• E. t. pelewensis: Palau Islands (eastern Caroline Islands)
• E. t. clara: Caroline Islands (Truk, Pohnpei and Kosrae)
• E. t. trichroa: Kosrae (Caroline Islands)
• E. t. woodfordi: Guadalcanal and Solomon Islands
• E. t. cyanofrons: Vanuatu and Loyalty Islands (Lifou and Maré)

Habitat

Pastures at rainforest edges.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes grass seeds, weeds and insects.

Breeding

The clutch consists of 4-6 eggs which are incubated for 12-13 days; the young fledge at 21 days.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Blue-faced Parrotfinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 30 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-faced_Parrotfinch

External Links

Search for photos of Blue-faced Parrotfinch in the gallery

• View more images of this species on the ABID