i HAD NOT but after a bunch of reading, it turns out that gouldian finches, when theyre freshly hatched and featherless, are often born in very dark nests. dark enough that its was suspected their brightly colored parents used to find it hard to actually locate their chicks mouths, which APPARENTLY led to the development … . of these
the little nodules are completely normal, and act as a light-reflecting homing beacon that guides their parents beaks in the right direction, which im SURE comes in handy but also has the side effect of being Really unnerving to watch in action
the chicks dont stop being nightmare bobbleheads until about 25 days later when their first feathers come in, but the little nightlights still remain visible until they get into their adult feathers and completely distance themselves from their shady past
while the colorful bumps on the beak seem to be unique to the goldian finches, the pattern on the INSIDE of the beak are pretty common in a lot finch species ( and other birds in general !)
Kimchi and Justice 