are in the process of building a nest in the crown of one of the smaller palms in our front garden. Made from light, almost white, dry grass - the bird's preference - the nest is only about one & a half metres above the ground, but they're quite safe because the palm fronds have spiny needles along their ridges, a couple of inches long & sharp & tough enough to pierce leather - which is why I just let the dead fronds hang down rather than cutting them off.
They're cute little birds. My "working name" for them, as I'm sure it is for a lot of other people, is owl-faced finch since when you see them face on & looking down a little, those bars & their light colour create the impression of the stereotypical owl face.
There may be eggs in the nest, because when one of them - the male? - is off gathering bulding materials, the other sits within the nest, moves when the first returns bearing thatch, places it correctly, & then returns to sitting.
The image I've used doesn't really show the owl aspect, but it was the only one I could find that wasn't copyrighted. When I start using the digital camera that came down the chimney I'll take my own photos, but I'm a little scared of starting using it because I may become obsessive. Click. Click.
Clickclickclickclickclickclickclick..........
The double-barred finch goes tiaat-tiaat. Sensible.
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