Star Finch Care Sheet

Scientific name

Bathilda ruficauda, which is also listed under the name Neochmia ruficauda.

Adult size

Length runs roughly 4-4.7 in (10-12 cm), and weight roughly 0.3-0.45 oz (9-13 g).

Lifespan

With good care, expect around 8 years.

Enclosure

Give star finches a big aviary with light planting, a dry floor (sand is the better choice) and good natural light, or else a long indoor flight cage. Length matters more than height. Bars should be no more than 1/2 in (12 mm) apart.

A star finch must never live alone. Big groups will strip the plants bare.

Keep the cage away from kitchen fumes. Items coated in PTFE/Teflon, such as non-stick pans, some heat lamps, heaters and irons, should never be used near birds, because the fumes can kill quickly even from another room.

Temperature

Star finches are considered hardy, but no range specific to this species is documented. Indoors, hold them at about 65-80°F (18-27°C) without drafts, as you would for other Australian finches, and avoid sudden swings.

Humidity

Normal room humidity works well. Put out a shallow bath dish every day.

UVB

Little is documented for this species. Unfiltered natural sunlight is the best choice, from an outdoor flight or an open window (glass blocks UV), and shade must always be available.

Avian vet evidence on UVB lamps for birds is mixed, so a lamp is optional. If you use one, pick a bird-specific full-spectrum/UVB lamp, follow the maker's distance guidance and run it on the normal day cycle. Also make sure the diet provides vitamin D3.

Lighting

Give about 12-14 hours of light a day on a steady schedule, and never leave the lights on continuously. Sunlight in an aviary is the preferred light.

Heating

Never use PTFE/Teflon-coated heat sources near birds. That covers non-stick pans, some heat lamps, heaters and irons. Their fumes kill small birds quickly.

Diet

Base the diet on a quality small-finch seed mix of millets and canary seed. Offer sprouted seed and green seeding grasses or seed heads often, plus leafy greens regularly, with spinach in small amounts only. Commercial soft finch food or egg food can be added.

Live food is optional for captive birds. Provide fresh water every day.

Never feed avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, onion, garlic, fruit pits, apple seeds, or salty, fatty or sugary human food.

Supplements

Keep cuttlebone or a mineral block, and a little fine grit, available at all times. It is common practice to give laying hens extra calcium. Birds kept indoors without UV and fed mostly seed should get an avian vitamin supplement containing A and D3.

Shedding

Young birds have a brown face and a dark bill. Over their first months they molt into the red-faced adult plumage, and mid-molt the bill may be anywhere from black to orange-red. Adults molt once a year.

Handling

These are hands-off birds. Catch them gently with a small net, and only for health checks or moves.

Health signs to watch

Take the bird to an avian vet for any of these: tail bobbing or noisy breathing (air sac mites or a respiratory infection); crusty growths on the face or legs (mites); a fluffed, sleepy bird; a hen that strains or sits on the floor (egg binding); diarrhea or weight loss (worms or gut infections).

Aviaries need a strict worming and parasite control plan. Exposure to PTFE fumes can be followed by sudden death.

Welfare

The IUCN rates the species Least Concern, but numbers are declining. The southern subspecies (ruficauda, listed in Australia as Neochmia ruficauda ruficauda) is Endangered under Australian law and may be extinct, so buy captive-bred birds only.