How to Care for Painted Finches

Written by the Birdsville team. Last updated October 2026.

Painted finch care comes down to a quality finch seed mix, plenty of live food when breeding, and a dry, sunny aviary with nests at different heights. The painted finch, also called the painted firetail, Emblema finch or mountain finch, is a stunning Australian desert finch with a bright red face, a red rump and a black belly spotted with white. This guide covers how to care for painted finches, from diet and breeding to housing and health, with a full shopping list of the supplies we recommend, delivered Australia-wide by Petsville.

Male painted finch with bright red face and white spotted black belly — painted finch malA male painted finch, with his bright red face and red belly patch.

Painted Finch Quick Facts

Scientific name: Emblema pictum
Also known as: Painted Firetail, Emblema Finch, Mountain Finch
Native range: arid Australia, across Western Australia, the Northern Territory, western Queensland and north east South Australia
Wild status: Least Concern
Adult length: around 10 cm
Adult weight: around 12 g
Lifespan: commonly around 5 to 7 years
Diet: finch seed mix, live food, egg and biscuit, greens
Housing: medium to large aviary with a dry floor, pairs or colonies
Clutch: 3 to 6 white eggs, incubated for about 14 days
Sexing: males have a bright red face, hens have only a little red near the beak
Temperament: peaceful
Experience level: intermediate

Painted Finch Shopping List

Everything in this guide is available from Petsville, which delivers Australia-wide, or in-store at Birdsville in Sydney.

Food

Birdsville Blends Finch & Canary (https://petsville.com.au/products/birdsville-blends-finch-canary-500g)
Millet sprays (https://petsville.com.au/products/millet-sprays-mixed-100g)
Shep’s Egg & Biscuit (https://petsville.com.au/products/sheps-egg-biscuit-500g)
Insectivore Rearing Mix (https://petsville.com.au/products/wombaroo-insectivore-rearing-mix-250g)
Vetafarm Insecta-Pro (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-insecta-pro-450g)

Health

Vetafarm Calcivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-calcivet-50ml)
Vetafarm Multivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-multivet-50ml)
Vetafarm Spark Liquid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-spark-liquid-50ml)
Shell grit (https://petsville.com.au/products/shell-grit-5kg)
Vetafarm Wormout Gel (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-wormout-gel-50ml)
Avitrol Mite & Lice Spray (https://petsville.com.au/products/fidos-avitrol-bird-mite-and-lice-spray-125ml)

Breeding and Cleaning

Vetafarm Breeding Aid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-breeding-aid-100ml)
Nesting material, including swamp grass and feathers (https://petsville.com.au/collections/bird-subsrate)
Vetafarm Aviclens (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-aviclens-water-cleanser-100ml)
Vetafarm Avicare disinfectant (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-avicare-rtu-500ml)

Live food and finch nest boxes are available in-store at Birdsville.

Painted Finches in the Wild

Painted finches are Australian desert finches. They’re found across arid Australia, from the Western Australian coast through the Northern Territory to the Gulf of Carpentaria, western Queensland and north east South Australia. They live in small flocks around waterholes, in rocky gorges and hills with small shrubs and spinifex grass. With few large trees in their habitat, they nest on or close to the ground, and wild birds often breed after rain. Painted finches are listed as Least Concern in the wild (BirdLife International: https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/painted-finch-emblema-pictum/details).

Housing Painted Finches

Painted finches breed well in medium to large aviaries. As desert birds, they need a dry, sunny aviary and don’t cope well with damp. Keep part of the floor dry and sheltered from rain, add some rocks and low shrubs, and provide perches of different thicknesses, a shallow bath, and separate dishes for seed, grit, live food and water.

Seasonal tip: Painted finches handle heat well, but they dislike cold, wet weather. In winter, keep the aviary floor dry and cover the windward side against cold southerly winds. In summer, give them shade, a bath, and Vetafarm Spark Liquid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-spark-liquid-50ml) in the water on very hot days.

Painted finch, also called painted firetail, perched on close to nest — Painted finches are Australian desert finches from rocky spinifex country.

Painted Finch Diet

Painted finches need a quality finch seed mix, live food, egg and biscuit, greens, grit, vitamins, calcium and fresh water every day.

Seed

Always feed your painted finches a good quality seed mix, especially if you want to breed them, as they need to be in good condition. Our top pick is Birdsville Blends Finch & Canary (https://petsville.com.au/products/birdsville-blends-finch-canary-500g), our biggest selling finch blend. It’s bagged fresh on site with a high turnover, so the seed never sits on a shelf, and buying from the people who mix it means better value. Avoid many supermarket and chain store mixes, which use low quality grains and filler seed that affect the health and vitality of your birds. If you’re unsure about your seed, ask a bird specialist.

Sprouted Seed

Always clean sprouted seed thoroughly with Vetafarm Aviclens (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-aviclens-water-cleanser-100ml) before feeding it to your birds.

Millet Sprays

Relished by all finches, millet sprays are fresh seed still on the stem. French white is the most recommended, followed by panicum. Buy them on Petsville (https://petsville.com.au/products/millet-sprays-mixed-100g).

Greens

Seeding grasses, milk thistle, dandelion, chickweed and broccoli.

Live Food

Feed mealworms and fly pupae with some insectivore mix, such as Insectivore Rearing Mix (https://petsville.com.au/products/wombaroo-insectivore-rearing-mix-250g) or Vetafarm Insecta-Pro (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-insecta-pro-450g). Live food is available in-store at Birdsville.

Egg and Biscuit

Especially good for painted finches. Try Shep’s Egg & Biscuit (https://petsville.com.au/products/sheps-egg-biscuit-500g).

Vitamins

Vitamins must go in the water, because finches hull their seed and any vitamins on the seed are wasted. Vetafarm Multivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-multivet-50ml) is a good choice.

Calcium and Vitamin D

All birds need a steady supply of calcium for strong bones, healthy feathers and good eggs. We recommend Vetafarm Calcivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-calcivet-50ml), a liquid calcium supplement with vitamin D3 that goes in the drinking water. It’s especially important for birds kept indoors or out of direct sunlight, because window glass blocks the UV light birds need to make their own vitamin D. Breeding hens need extra calcium to lay strong eggs.

Grit

Feed a decent finch grit containing roasted egg shell, charcoal, limestone and fine crushed shell, such as shell grit (https://petsville.com.au/products/shell-grit-5kg), in its own dish.

Breeding Painted Finches

Painted finches breed well in medium to large aviaries.

Here’s a tip from our team. We’ve found painted finches breed well in colonies, so you don’t need to keep each pair separate.

In the wild, they nest on or close to the ground, because there are few large trees in their habitat, so provide nests in different places and at different heights around the aviary. Half open nest boxes work well. Provide swamp grass and emu feathers (https://petsville.com.au/collections/bird-subsrate), and the male will do most of the nest building.

During breeding, live food such as mealworms and fly pupae is essential, because it provides the protein the parents need to feed their young. The hen lays 3 to 6 white eggs, which take about 14 days to hatch. The young fledge at about 3 weeks, and the parents keep feeding them for at least a month until they can crack seed for themselves. Vetafarm Breeding Aid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-breeding-aid-100ml) on the seed also helps support fertility and chick growth.

Sexing Painted Finches

Painted finches are easy to sex as adults. The male has a bright red face and a large red patch down the centre of his belly. The hen has only a little red near the beak, a smaller red belly patch, and more white spotting on her underparts.

Health and Parasite Control

Watch for fluffed up feathers, sitting still and inactive, a dirty vent, or a thin chest where the keel bone sticks out. A sick finch can go downhill within hours. Move it to a small, warm cage straight away, add Spark Liquid to its water, and see an avian vet. For more on finch health, see our Finch Care page [Finch Care page link].

Worm your painted finches every 3 months if they live outdoors, or every 6 months indoors, using Vetafarm Wormout Gel (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-wormout-gel-50ml). Spray birds, nests and the aviary with Avitrol Mite & Lice Spray (https://petsville.com.au/products/fidos-avitrol-bird-mite-and-lice-spray-125ml) every 3 months, avoiding the eyes. Keep new birds separate for 4 to 6 weeks before introducing them, and give them Spark Liquid in their water for the first few days after a move.

Cleaning

Daily: fresh water and seed in clean dishes, blow husks off the seed, and remove old live food and greens.
Weekly: clean the aviary thoroughly, and keep the floor dry.
Monthly: disinfect with Vetafarm Avicare (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-avicare-rtu-500ml), clean or replace branches, and clean out nests after the young have left.

Compatibility with Other Birds

In our experience, painted finches aren’t too aggressive with other birds, which makes them a good choice for a mixed aviary. They suit an Australian themed aviary with other gentle finches, such as Gouldians, star finches and plum headed finches. Because they nest low, avoid keeping them with ground dwelling birds like quail, which can disturb their nests. For more on mixing birds, see our Mixing Different Species of Bird page (https://birdsville.net.au/pet-bird-advice-and-training/mixing-different-species-of-bird/).

Female painted finch with only a little red near the beak — female painted finch. Hens have much less red on the face than males

Painted Finch Frequently Asked Questions

What do painted finches eat?

A quality finch seed mix such as Birdsville Blends Finch & Canary, plus sprouted seed, millet sprays and greens like seeding grasses, milk thistle and dandelion. Live food such as mealworms and fly pupae with insectivore mix, plus egg and biscuit, is essential when breeding. They also need grit, vitamins, calcium and fresh water.

How do you tell a male painted finch from a female?

Male painted finches have a bright red face and a large red patch down the centre of the belly. Hens have only a little red near the beak, a smaller red belly patch, and more white spotting on the underparts. Comparing birds side by side makes it easy to pick a pair.

Is a painted finch the same as a painted firetail?

Yes. The painted finch, painted firetail, Emblema finch and mountain finch are all names for the same Australian native finch, Emblema pictum. Painted finch is the name most keepers use, while painted firetail is common in field guides and birdwatching books.

Where do painted finches come from?

Painted finches are Australian desert finches, found across arid Western Australia, the Northern Territory, western Queensland and north east South Australia. They live in small flocks around waterholes, in rocky gorges and hills with small shrubs and spinifex grass.

Are painted finches easy to breed?

Painted finches breed well in medium to large aviaries, and our team has found they do well in colonies. Because they nest on or near the ground in the wild, provide nests at different heights, plus swamp grass and emu feathers. The male does most of the building, and plenty of live food is essential.

Do painted finches need special housing?

As desert birds, painted finches need a dry, sunny aviary and don’t cope well with damp. Keep part of the floor dry and sheltered from rain, add some rocks and low shrubs, and provide nesting spots close to the ground as well as higher up.

Painted Finches and Supplies at Birdsville

We have painted finches in stock from time to time at Birdsville, 684 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, servicing the Eastern Suburbs and Inner South Sydney. Call (02) 9669 1766, or check our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BirdsvilleRosebery/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/petsvillesydney/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@birdsvillepets) to see what’s in. Every product in this guide is available online from Petsville, delivered Australia-wide, or in-store. Live food and finch nest boxes are available in-store. Our team will help you set up the right home and diet for your birds.

About Birdsville

Birdsville has been trading in Sydney since 1985, and we believe we’re now the oldest bricks and mortar bird shop still open in Australia. Owner Ash brings experience from vet clinics and from zoo keeping at the Rainforest Habitat in Port Douglas, now Wildlife Habitat. We’re a small business that does things in a big way. Nobody tells us how to run things, so we keep our products the best of the best.