Physical Description

Star finches are also called red faced finches because of their bright red faces and colored bodies (Simpson and Day, 1996).

Males have very different coloration from females. Males have a bright red face, duller on the top and yellowish-olive below the head. The chest, flanks, rump and tail have white spots (Simpson and Day, 1996). The wings males are a little more brown that their overall color (Immelmann, 1965).

Females, in contrast, have a much duller face, with bright red showing only on their lores and forehead (Simpson and Day, 1996).

As these birds age, the color of their bodies gets brighter, and they are more distinctively marked (Pizzey, 1980).

Sexual Dimorphism: sexes colored or patterned differently