Long-tailed Finch
Poephila acuticauda (Gould, 1840)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Long-tailed finch (Poephila acuticauda), Bird Walk Aviary, Canberra, Australia
JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The long-tailed finch (Poephila acuticauda) is a common species of estrildid finch found in northern Australia, from the Kimberley region to the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is a predominantly fawn-coloured bird with a pale grey head and prominent black bib and eyes. It inhabits dry savannah habitats in Australia and adapts readily to aviculture. It is known as the Hex finch in the United Kingdom, and Heck's finch in other parts of the world.
Wikipedia contributors, Long-tailed finch; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:31:29.619147+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Poephila acuticauda (Gould, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Gould, 1840)
- Common name
- Long-tailed Finch
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Poephila
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyEstrildidae Bonaparte, 1850
- genusPoephila Gould, 1842
- speciesPoephila acuticauda (Gould, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Poephila. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Masked FinchPoephila personata Gould, 1842 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-throated FinchPoephila cincta (Gould, 1837) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=562367 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:77SYT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.