Description
The adult Long-tailed Finch is around 15 cm (6 in) in length. It has a prominent roundish black bib on its throat and upper chest and a long pointed black tail. It has pinkish brown upperparts with paler plumage below its bib over the lower breast and abdomen. It has a grey head, a white ear-patch, and black lores. It has black patches on its upper flanks and its rump and undertail coverts are white. The beak colour of the adult Long-tailed Finch varies from red through orange to yellow. The subspecies with red beaks is sometimes called Heck's Grass Finch Poephila acuticauda hecki, and the nominate subspecies with orange or yellow beaks is sometimes called the Long-tailed Grass Finch. Males are females are similar, except the females may be slightly duller and may have a slightly smaller bib. Females have shorter wings and tails than males on average, but their measurements, as well as throat bib size, generally lie within the range of male measurements. Furthermore, male and female plumage is indistinguishable in ultraviolet and visible light. A study published in 1999 showed that male Long-tailed Finches were unable to determine the sex of unfamiliar members of their species unless the latter bird declared its sex by song. Juveniles have black beaks and shorter tail feathers.
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