Neochmia


Neochmia is a genus of estrildid finches found in Australasia. They are gregarious seed-eaters with short, thick, but pointed bills.

Taxonomy

The genus Neochmia was introduced in 1849 by the English zoologist George Gray with Fringilla phaeton Hombron & Jacquinot, the crimson finch as the type species. The genus name is from Ancient Greek νεοχμια/neokhmia meaning "innovation" or "phenomenon".
The genus contains two species:
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Red-browed finchNeochmia temporalisNorthern Queensland, and south-east of Australia
Crimson finchNeochmia phaetonNorthern Australia with some residing in New Guinea