Gouldian Finch - A beautiful and impressive seven color finch | Feathered Explorer

The Gouldian finch (Chloebia gouldiae), also known as the Gould's finch or the rainbow finch, is a colourful passerine bird that is native to Australia.
The Gouldian finch was described by British ornithologist John Gould in 1844 as Amadina gouldiae, in honour of his deceased wife Elizabeth. Specimens of the bird were sent to him by British naturalist Benjamin Bynoe, although they had been described some years before by French naturalists Jacques Bernard Hombron and Honoré Jacquinot. It is also known as the rainbow finch, Gould's finch, or sometimes just Gould. The Gouldian finch is sister to the parrotfinches in the genus Erythrura.
Both sexes are brightly coloured with black, green, yellow, and red markings. The females tend to be less brightly colored. One major difference between the sexes is that the male's chest is purple, while the female's is a lighter mauve.
Gouldian finches are about 125-140 mm long. Gouldian finches' heads may be red, black, or yellow. Formerly considered three different kinds of finches, it is now known that these are colour variants of one species that exist in the wild. Selective breeding has also developed mutations (blue, yellow and silver instead of a green back) in both body and breast colour.
There are several "prominent rounded tubercles" with an "opalescent lustre" at the back of the gape. These tubercles are commonly (and incorrectly) described as phosphorescent in spite of much scientific evidence to the contrary. It is believed that these tubercles simply reflect light and are not luminescent.
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