It has been a long time since I’ve had a new bird species to add to the A-Z  Native Species list, and small birds are hard to photograph, so I’m especially pleased to add the Red-Browed Finch.  Technically it was Richard who saw and photographed these birds. I was somewhere else and missed them.  Looking at the bright red beaks, brows and tails makes for a cheerful sight – I hope they come back to visit the bird feeder soon.  I’d love to see them fluttering around and squabbling with each other.

My field guide describes the Red-Browed Finch as having a high-pitched ‘squeak’ and a ‘dup’ sound along with excited chatter. I’m sure they are some of the ‘tweety’ birds I hear but never see every morning as I go walking. Apparently they construct an untidy, bottle-shaped nest and breed from September to January. Immature birds have black beaks.