Finches For Dummies. Nikki Moustaki

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СКАЧАТЬ of this group are often called the “true” finches. This family includes the canaries, chaffinches, some siskins, rosefinches, goldfinches, and bullfinches. These finches are adapted to crush seeds and, as a result, they have strong skulls and jaws. These finches are found on all continents.

       Passeridae: This group of around 40 finches includes sparrows and snowfinches. Formerly found only in Europe and the surrounding areas, these finches have now been introduced to habitats all over the world. Two types of Passeridae are commonly found in the United States, including the house sparrow. As a group, they are hardy and gregarious songbirds.

       Estrildidae: Included in this group of around 140 birds are some the most popular companion finches, including grass finches, parrot finches, waxbills, society finches, greenfinches, serins, firefinches, firetails, quailfinches, Gouldian finches, mannikins, nuns, munias, Java sparrows, cordon-bleu finches, cut throats, and zebra finches. The majority of finches in this group are from a temperate climate, preferring warm weather. They tend to be flocking birds and are all seed-eaters.

       Ploceidae: This group has approximately 120 members, including the whydahs (also called widowbirds) and weavers (also called bishops). They are found primarily in Africa and India and can be more aggressive in their response to other birds than some of the more commonly kept species.

One of the longest domesticated and most popular varieties of finch is the well-known canary (see Figure 1-1). Canaries come in a variety of colors, from bright yellow, like the famous Tweety Bird, to brown, gray, orange, white, and variegated (having either regular or uneven dark markings). Canaries are delicate birds, originally from the Canary Islands, and have been a popular companion in Europe since the 16th century, perhaps even earlier.

      FIGURE 1-1: Canaries are among the most popular types of finch.

      Most people buy a canary for his beautiful song. The males are the singers of the species, and they’re generally the gender that you’ll keep if you want to hear singing in your home. The females can make great companions too, but they won’t launch into song the way a male will.

      

The canary’s song depends largely on the type of canary that you choose. Some canaries sing a variety of songs, whereas others are trained only to sing in a certain manner. Yes, canaries have to be trained to sing. Many breeders keep an “expert” singer, a canary with a particularly masterful song, in a cage within earshot of young males. The youngsters will learn from this maestro and, hopefully, pick up the essentials of beautiful singing. Some interesting research has shown that birds can actually learn songs when they are developing inside the egg! Don’t worry if you don’t have a master singer to teach the young males their trade; CDs and audio files of canary songs work just as well (you can buy these online or play them for free on YouTube).

      Size differences

Finches can vary in size from about 3 inches in length to about 8 inches in length. Some finches are very tiny, such as the gold-breasted waxbill, measuring in at under 3 inches. The whydah, who is only 5 inches in length, has a tail that can reach 15 inches long during breeding season.

       I SEE YOUR TRUE COLORS SHINING THROUGH …

      Some canaries, like the red factor canary shown in the figure below, turn various shades of red and orange if they’re fed a special color food or water additive made for red factor canaries only. It’s the only way for a red factor canary to achieve colors ranging from magenta to bright orange to strawberry red.

      Don’t feed your other types of canaries the color food, as their color will not change because of it. Only the red factor has the genetic predisposition to show what it eats though its feathers, much like flamingos and roseate spoonbills, which pick up their pink coloration from the crustaceans that they eat. Color feeding is usually done during a molt, when new feathers are growing in. If you don’t want to color feed with commercially prepared products, you can feed your red factor canary beets, cherries, red and orange peppers, carrots, cayenne pepper, paprika, and other red and orange fruits and veggies to help maintain their color.

      Temperament differences

      In terms of companion quality, most finches are the same. Some are more skittish than others, but for the most part, they all make wonderful companions. Some can be more demanding in terms of nutritional needs or housing, and others are far easier, such as the zebra, society, or owl finch.

      Finches aren’t aggressive toward children or other pets. The reverse is far more likely to be true. However, some species of finches are aggressive toward other species of finches, and all varieties of finches will have more of a tendency toward aggression during the breeding season.

      

If you’re going to keep a large aviary (a home for birds that’s large enough for an adult human to walk into), and you wish to have more than one species represented, do some research ahead of time to find out which species will be most likely to get along. For example, weavers are quite aggressive and the males will hurt, or even kill, other species and other males of their own species. Society finches, on the other hand, get along so well that more than a dozen of them will try to crunch themselves into one nest to sleep for the night.

      Most of the time, finches will shy away from human contact. Taming a finch to appreciate human contact is possible, but that depends a great deal upon the individual finch and will usually require more patience and effort than most bird guardians are willing to devote. Remember that your companion finch is a very delicate creature and easily frightened. Too sudden a shock or fright can be fatal to your little friend. However, you can find many adorable videos online of hand-tamed finches.

      The finch lifespan

      Most finches live to be between four and ten years old, with some variations among species. Some have been reported living 15 years or more. Although it’s very rare, finch guardians have also reported that their finches have lived up to 27 years! Now that’s a well-cared-for finch!

Anatomy of a Finch

Knowing the parts of your finch is a good idea so that you can describe a problem to an avian veterinarian or an online finch group if you have to do so. Knowing the different parts of your finches is also a good idea if you’re going to breed or show your birds. This way you can speak like an expert with other hobbyists. Here are the parts of your finch you’ll want to be familiar with (see Figure 1-2 for an illustration).

       Crown: The crown is simply the top of the head. It’s an important word to know in finch-speak because many finches are identified by the color of the crown.

       Nares: The nares (nostrils) are at the top of the beak and may not be visible because they’re often СКАЧАТЬ