AUSTRALIAN 78 BIRD WATCHER

Notes on Introduced Finches occurring in the Heidelberg Area, Victoria

By HOWARD E. A. JARMAN, 30 Waldemar Road, Heidelberg, Victoria, 3084.

While walking around the Rosanna Golf Course, Lower Plenty, on the morning of 21 March 1981 , calls not attributable to any local bird attracted the writer's attention. A small party of finches was found feeding on the ripening seed heads of a tall introduced grass, Barnyard Grass Echinochloa crus-galli, growing in a boggy drain. There were five Nutmeg Mannikins or Spice Finches Lonchura punctulata, one Black­ headed Mannikin or N un L. malacca and one Chestnut-breasted Mannikin L. castaneothorax. One of the Nutmeg Mannikins was in juvenile plumage with pale head and only a little of the flecked feathering on the under­ parts characteristic of the adult. Subsequently three of the last species were seen at the same place on 4 April but none has been noted since. All three species are popular aviary birds and the ones seen were presumably escapees. Nevertheless they seemed to be well adjusted to their freedom, clambering briskly on the grass stems and flying strongly. The writer has one other local record of the Nutmeg Mannikin: a single bird seen mid 1978 on the Ban yule F lats of the River Yarra. This sighting was about two kilometres from the one at Rosanna Golf Course. It is a native of South-East Asia now firmly established in several parts of coastal . Storr (1973) records it as being 'common', describing its north-eastern range as Cooktown south to Mackay and inland to Atherton; its mid-eastern as Rockhampton, and its south-eastern as north to Noosa and inland to Miles and Meandarra. It was established in Brisbane in the 1930s and from other Queensland coastal centres later. Nutmeg Mannikins are also found in several parts of . Morris et a!. (1981) consider it to be 'uncommon'. It was established near about 1950 and is now 'well dispersed at '. It is also found at Grafton, Lismore, Casino and Murwillumbah in the northern coastal regions, Taree on the central coast and Moruya on the south coast. Kurtz (1980) reported the first inland record: a flock of 25 near Mudgee in August 1979. Flocks of 50 at Windsor and 70 at Wilberforce (Rogers et a!. 1978) indicate the build-up in numbers near Sydney. may also be the involuntary host of Nutmeg Mannikins. Whatmough (1981) recorded a flock of six birds at Felixstow in August 1978, and six also at Paradise in October 1979. Both localities are north­ of . It would be most unfortunate if these exotic finches became established in either Adelaide or Melbourne. Immelmann (1 965) states that in Northern Queensland the Nutmeg Mannikin soon replaces Australian grass-finches particularly in urban situations and 'plays the role which the European House Sparrow does in the cities of South-Eastern Aus­ tralia'. It thrives in the tropical north, breeding nearly all the year round VOL. 9 (3) SEPTEMBER 1981 Introduced Finches, Heidelberg Area, Vic. 79 and producing six or seven eggs per clutch. Immelmann considers that the climate of Sydney falls short of the optimum for this tropical bird; the long cool winters allowing breeding in only, thus controlling numbers. Hopefully the even more rigorous climates of Melbourne and Adelaide will also prove effective deterrents. The Black-headed Mannikin, also from South-East Asia, if it is established in New South Wales, apparently has only a tenuous hold. McGill (1960) states that it is very rare, being restricted to a few rank swamp areas near Sydney. Morris et al. (1981) state 'Recorded irregularly (including nesting) near Sydney since 1929 ... and Nowra 1977; con­ ceivably these records concern recurrent aviary escapes rather than an established population'. The Nowra record alludes to a small colony being reported but only one bird seen (R ogers et al. 1978). The Chestnut-breasted Mannikin is a native of Northern Australia and occurs naturally down the -east coast region to about the latitude of Sydney. Of all the Australian finches kept in captivity, this is the species most often reported at liberty in Victoria. There have been spasmodic records of small parties in the vicinity of Melbourne for a number of years past. Wheeler (1967) reports 'Bundoora, Nunawading, Ivanhoe, Yellingbo etc. Some breeding records'. The writer saw four adults in a patch of bulrushes on the Banyule Flats, Heidelberg, on 15 January 1974, five were reported at La Trobe University, Bundoora, on 6 June 1977 (Townsend in Buckingham 1977) and 15, some breeding, were seen at Carrum on 25 August 1978 (Chick in Buckingham 1978) . However, being of tropical and subtropical origin, it seems that the Chestnut­ breasted Mannikin finds the Melbourne climate too cold for successful acclimatisation despite occasional nesting successes. Acknowledgements I am grateful to Mr Alan K. Morris for information extracted from the forthcoming Handlist of Birds of New South Wales and to the Director, National Herbarium (Victoria) for identifying botanical specimens. References Buckingham, R. (ed.) (1977), 'Unusual Sighting Reports - Series 2', The Bird Observer No. 550, 71. Buckingham, R. (ed.) (1978) , 'Unusual Sighting Reports - Series 16', The Bird Observer Nos. 565-6, 75. Immel mann, K. (1965) , Australian Finches in Bush and Aviary, Sydney. Kurtz, N. (1980), 'Nutmeg Mannikin near Mudgee', Aust. Birds vol. 14, 51. McGill, A. R. (1960) , Handlist of Birds of N ew South Wales, Fauna Protection Panel, Government Printer, Sydney. Morris, A. E. & L indsey, T. R. (eds.) (1978) , 'New South Wales Bird Report for 1977', Aust. Birds vol. 13 , 20. Morris, A. K. , McGill, A . R. & Holmes, G . (1981) , Handlist of Birds of N ew South Wales, N.S.W. F ield Ornith. Club, Dubbo (in press). Storr, G. M. (1973) , List of Queensland Birds, Spec. Pubis. West. Aust. Mus. No. 5, . Whatmough, R. G. (1981), 'Nutmeg Mannikin in Suburban Adelaide', Sth. Aust. Ornith. vol. 28, 167. Wheeler, W. R. (1967) , Handlist of the Birds of Victoria, Vic. Ornith. Research Group, Melbourne. ABW