The Crimson Finch Neochmia phaeton is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia, Indonesia & Papua New Guinea. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 100,000- 1,000,000 kmē.
It is commonly found in moist savanna, and subtropical/ tropical (lowland) moist shrubland. The status of the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
The Crimson finch (also known as the Blood Finch) has two distinct races, the Black-bellied and the White-bellied. The Black-bellied is the more common in captivity and therefore is reflected in its pricing.
The Blood Finch is known by this name due to the predominantly blood red colouration of the plumage. This bird is often erroneously accused of being a "killer" in captivity. It is normally no more aggressive than any other Australian finch; only males kept as single birds for a long period of time eventually become aggressive. This finch comes from the northern part of Australia, mainly in the Northern Territory.
An Australian Government link about the distribution and information regarding this Australian finch can be found on the following link: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=64443
