Smart Choice, Docile Nature

Dave Brown welcomes the masked grassfinch to his birdroom and shares advice on this lovely Australian species

- Dave Brown

THE masked grassfinch (Poephila personata) is a native of Australia, most commonly to be found across the savannah of northern Australia, where pairs or small flocks are most likely to be spotted near a source of water. Their time is taken up with foraging throughout the day, with the diet of wild masked being made up largely of grass seed. Ornithologists have reported flocks in the thousands gathering around waterholes in the evening. Safety in numbers encourages them to chatter incessantly.