The Silver Diamond Firetail Barely Even Looks Real

Meet the silver diamond firetail, a rare variety of native Australian finch that looks like a Christmas angel with flames spilling from beneath its robes. Only the most experienced breeders can reliably produce this variety of the diamond firetail (Stagonopleura guttata), selecting parents that carry the recessive genes that give rise to this almost pearlescent plumage.

Australia's firetail finches are not technically classified as threatened, but their numbers are declining, and things like habitat loss, feral cats, and other native birds such as the pied currawong are serious threats. The good news is there are active measures being taken to ensure their numbers don't continue to dip to dangerous levels.