Parrot Finches

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These lovely birds have become very popular aviary birds. Some beautiful mutations have been bred and are readily available. Please refer to the photos to the right.

I have a very strong affinity for them. They are a true delight to have in a mixed aviary or as a colony breeder.

They have a natural inquisitive nature, and seem to have the happy knack of recognizing the breeder immediately and greeting them at the aviary door.

This breed is totally vivacious, very energetic, and always on the move. They are very gentle, which makes them an ideal choice, for a mixed aviary.

This finch loves water -- they enjoy jumping in and out of it. Bathing will take place a couple of times a day, summer or winter - and are an important part of their daily grooming.

A characteristic also of the parrot finch, is their almost semi-nocturnal nature. They are always last to roost at night, and can be seen still on the food station, or darting around the aviary when you have the house lights on. Conversely, they are first to stir in the morning.

The pair bonding of the adult birds is very strong, and in the aviary they are seldom seen apart. However, should either one die, a new partner should be introduced as soon as possible.

It is always advisable to have more hens in your colony than male birds, as it .minimizes the potential conflict between males.

Description:

This species is "mono-morphic." In other words: both sexes look the same. Experienced breeders will be able to differentiate between the sexes by observation.

The body color of the bird is green. The head, brow and a predominant part of the chest area, is a beautiful crimson scarlet or -- if it is a blue-headed parrot finch -- blue. This scarlet or blue area is also carried to rump area of the bird. But instead of being the vivid crimson, tends to be more of a vermilion color. Fledgling birds tend to be of a dull olive color.

In the nest the youngsters have the most startling iridescent blue "gape" (corners of beak). No doubt, there to help parent birds locate the gaping mouths of chicks, when entering the darkened nest, from the natural light of the aviary.

Species - Classification

The following synopsis is currently accepted in large ornithological circles and shows the relationship among the different parrot finches.

In a published study dated 1995, parrot finches have been classified in two different groups, namely the "Malaysian" and the "Melanesian" parrot finches.

Group 1 - the "Malaysian" parrot finches.

This group includes:

Erythrura hyperythra (bamboo parrot finch)
Erythrura prasina (pintailed non-pareil parrot finch)
Erythrura viridifacies (manila parrot finch)

Group 2 - the "Melanesian" parrot finches.
This group is sub-divided as shown:

Blue-headed species

Erythrura tricolor (forbes parrot finch)
Erythrura papuana (papuan parrot finch)
Erythrura coloria (coloria parrot finch)
Erythrura trichroa (blue-faced parrot finch)

Red-headed species

Erythrura cyaneovirens regia (royal parrot finch)
Erythrura cyaneovirens cyaneovirens (samoa parrot finch)
Erythrura cyaneovirens peali (peale parrot finch)

Aviary Requirements

They are ideally suited for large well-planted aviaries, with plenty of flight space. 8ft. long x 7ft. wide, for example. Give or take a couple of feet. An aviary can never be too big.

Provision should be made at the outset to be able to install slotted tracking on the front of the aviary, to slide in either Perspex or Polycarb sheets during the winter months, to keep out the winds, and help in some small part to keep heat in. In talking to some breeders, in the earlier days, cooler climate breeders were plagued with the same problems with the parrot finches, as that faced by gouldian breeders.

Over time the breed has adapted well to cooler climates. However, when purchasing birds from a breeder find out whether the breeder uses artificial heating sources. It takes time for birds to acclimatize to your local temperature and conditions.

It is recommended to provide some cover within the aviary, which can be achieved by planting bushes suitable to your area, or alternatively putting up appropriate brush, which even when dry seems to provide cover adequate for their needs.

Having said all that, give them food, water, and nesting material, and they are likely to thrive and breed. If within your aviary, you have the facility to grow a seeding grass, then you are guaranteeing yourself a happy flock of parrot finches.

Breeding:

In captivity, red faces seem happy to accept any form of nesting accommodation, from a standard "gouldian" or "budgerigar" nesting box, to a wicker or cane elongated tube. In the wild, they will choose cracks in walls, holes in fences. And, deserted homes offer a multitude of nooks and crannies from where they will set up home.

The hen seems to be the predominant nest builder. The preferred nesting material seems to be well-dried pampas grass, which is both soft and pliable. Soft well-dried grass or teased strands of hessian, cut to manageable lengths are also readily accepted.

The nest box should be situated as high in the aviary as possible, although they are willing to settle for a nest box at lower levels.

The hen usually lays between four and six eggs. Both parents sharing the incubation, which they do with tremendous dedication.

Parrot Finches are highly tolerant to nest inspection. However, it is still advised to not overdo it.. As a result of your nest inspection, should you find a chick or chicks with a skin color that is darker than you would normally expect, this may indicate de-hydration. This may suggest that you need to check your breeding diet, and may call for additional green feed, or live food, such as mealworms or maggots.

Incubation takes about thirteen days. The young usually fledge at 21 days.

Fertility rates may be influenced by; diet climatic conditions, or the individual pair. Getting a good pair to start with, is always a bit of a gamble. All of the desirable characteristics in this pair have a higher than average chance of being passed on to their progeny.

It is within this first week that the fledgling commences to take on the distinctive color of the breed. Whilst the juvenile color remains pretty much the same, the tail commences to redden, and the chest feathers become a dull bronze, not unlike the chest color of a swallow. At approximately four weeks, the fledgling young get their first hint of red appearing in the chest area, usually in the upper extremities of the chest. You may read in other articles that the fledgling young, having left the nest, do not return to it. Don't believe it.

Cooler climate breeders can vouch for the fact, that not only do they return to the nest; they may well return to a new nest in which they were not hatched. Characteristic of the breed, the parents may have well set up a new nest, and be sitting on a new brood, prior to the fledging of the last.

Marker rings should be put on the fledglings when they are about 4 weeks old. Marker rings are an important tool for keeping track of them and for record keeping purposes.

While raising young, breeders often offer additional food items to the parents, such as hard-boiled eggs, enriched with vitamins and minerals, sprouted seeds, and mealworms.

The fledgling young readily accept live food, such as mealworms. They will take literally any size worm, and if to big to take in one hit, will suck the pulp out of the worm. Green food, on the other hand, takes them about two weeks before they accept it. But once they have gotten used to live food, their appetite is fairly insatiable. Sprouted seed are readily accepted by birds and very healthy. They make a excellent weaning food..

As with all other breeds, fresh water should be available at all times.

My experience with Parrot Finches: I owned a lovely family of red-faced parrot finches for several years and remember these little birds very fondly. It was very endearing to see how family-oriented they were. At one time, as I was carrying soapy water into the aviary for cleaning purposes, one parrot finch managed to fly out of the door. All day long, he flew around the aviary, and I was very sad knowing that this beautiful (and colorful) little bird would be easy pray out here, and would not make it for long. In the evening, I went back to the aviary and was surprised to see that the little parrot finch was back in the aviary, except he was in the section where the cockatiels were. As I was wondering how this was possible, and as I was checking the aviary for any possible means he could have gotten in, I found that I had forgotten to close up the run-off hole (where the cleaning water runs out), which was basically an about 1 inch tube that led to the outside. The little finch clearly has "crawled itself" back into the aviary, to join his family. And that he did ..

My assessment of them: Beautiful and personable little birds. They don't breed as prolifically as say the zebras or the societies, but that aspect was never as important to me as their great little personalities. They also make very good parents.

They are not as widely available as other finches, but if you can get them, I would really recommend them for your aviary. They are beautiful, peaceful, quiet and very endearing birds. In my area, both blue-face and red-face varieties were available. Even though the red-face parrotfinches may be more striking -- their personalities should be the same.

Worming: As the bird does spend a lot of time foraging on the floor you should expect that you are going to need to deal with a worm burden. Some school of thought may indicate that parrot finches per say do not respond well to worming. What works for many is to mix 80 mils of water, 1.5 mils of Avitrol Plus, 2.0 mils of strawberry topping. The strawberry topping seems to make it more palatable without affecting the efficacy of product. Use your own judgment on how often you dose, but 3 or 4 times a year would seem appropriate, particularly if you are feeding live food.

Care and Feeding:

I like to see them in an planted aviary or an attractive flight cage, with lots natural branches, maybe some plants. And they DO enjoy fresh fruits / veggies a lot, and parsley -- and dandelions are VERY good for them. You can get a lot of free "green stuff" (safe, untreated plants please!) from your own garden to feed to them -- and your finches will REALLY enjoy them!

For further information, please refer to the finch websites listed under the heading of this webpage or, for more general information, the below web resources are helpful:

Sources for Purchasing or Adopting your Companion or Aviary Birds
Optimal nutrition to keep your bird healthy
Housing your bird
Caring for your companion / aviary bird

If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
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Parrot Finches

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