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Finches
2nd Edition

by Nikki Moustaki
Finches For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
About This Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Foolish Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Icons Used in This Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Beyond the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Where to Go from Here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

PART 1: INTRODUCING FINCHES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

CHAPTER 1: Finches: More Than Just Pretty,

Chatty Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Where Finches Come From. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Life of a Wild Finch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Many Species of Finches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Size differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Temperament differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The finch lifespan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Anatomy of a Finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

CHAPTER 2: Are Finches Your Perfect Companions?. . . . . . . . . 17

Knowing What to Expect from Finches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Activity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Noise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Enjoyment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Mess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Knowing What Your Finches Expect from You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
A good home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Routine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Deciding Whether a Finch Is Right for You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Will finches fit into your family? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Do you have any smokers in the house?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Is your home also home to children?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Do you have other pets? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
How Many Finches Are Right for You?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

CHAPTER 3: Selecting Species of Companion Finches. . . . . . . . 31

Choosing Finches: Exploring Your Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Canary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Cordon-bleu finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Table of Contents iii

 European goldfinch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Gouldian finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Java finch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Owl finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Society finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Spice finch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Whydah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Zebra finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

CHAPTER 4: Finding and Selecting Finches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Choosing Finches: Exploring Your Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
The age of your new finches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Previously homed finches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Finding a Finch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Pet shops and bird shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Swap meets and flea markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
The classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Breeders and experts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Bird shows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Searching for a Healthy Finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Eyes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Nose and nares. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Feathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Feet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Vent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Attitude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Housing Finches Together. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

PART 2: CARING FOR YOUR FINCHES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

CHAPTER 5: Home Tweet Home: Preparing for

Your Finches and Bringing Them Home. . . . . . . . . 57
Your Finches’ New Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Size matters: Cages, flight cages, aviaries, and habitats. . . . 58
Considering cage materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Keeping cage safety in mind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Deciding where to put your bird’s cage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Accessorizing Your Finches’ Abode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Perches to stand on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Cups and bowls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Cage covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

iv Finches For Dummies

 Mineral blocks and cuttlebones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Toys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Baths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Lighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Heating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Keeping Mess Away. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Cage bloomers and seed guards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Cleaning supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
HEPA filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Setting up the Cage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Finch-Proofing Your Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Traveling Safely from Store to Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

CHAPTER 6: Caring for Your Finches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Water: Extremely Essential. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Knowing What Your Finch Should (and Shouldn’t) Eat . . . . . . . . 79
Seeds and pellets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Veggies and fruit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Snacks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Live insects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Table foods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Cooked foods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Fun Finch Food Recipes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Finch flapjacks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Finch fiber fusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Finch fries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
What not to feed your finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Nutritional supplements: When food is not enough. . . . . . . 87
Helping Your Finches Get the Exercise They Need . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Getting a Good Night’s Sleep: Putting Your Finch to Bed. . . . . . 88
Grooming Your Finch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Toenail clipping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Bathing your bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Giving your molting birds some TLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Can’t We All Just Get Along? Living with Other Pets. . . . . . . . . . . 94
Cleaning Your Finches’ Housing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

CHAPTER 7: Come Here Often? Getting to Know

Your Finches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Understanding Finch Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
What did you say?: Normal finch vocalization . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours: Preening
and allopreening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Table of Contents v
 Stretching: Birdy yoga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Hungry anyone? Finch vomiting and regurgitation . . . . . . . . 99
Resting on one leg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Scratching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Sleeping and roosting behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Romeo, oh Romeo: When your finch goes a-courting. . . . . 102
Finch Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Handling Your Finch Safely. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Taming Your Finch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

PART 3: TRAINING AND BREEDING

YOUR FINCHES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

CHAPTER 8: Keeping Your Finches Healthy

and Handling Emergencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
The Veterinarian: Your New BFF (Bird Friend Forever). . . . . . . 108
Regular examinations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Emergencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
What a Healthy Finch Looks Like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Eyes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Ears. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Beak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Feet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Feathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Respiratory system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Skeletal system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Digestive system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Signs of Sick Finches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Common Finch Ailments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Emergencies: Knowing When
to Get Help Immediately. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Poisoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Animal bites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Overheating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Oil on the feathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Frostbite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Unconsciousness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Egg binding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Foot injuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Eye injuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Seizures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Injury to the beak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Fractures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

vi Finches For Dummies

 What to Do if Your Bird Is Lost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Assembling a First-Aid Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
What to Do If Your Bird Dies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

CHAPTER 9: Breeding Your Finches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Breeding Your Finches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Making sure you have a male and a female . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Starting with healthy birds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Knowing when to breed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Getting the right equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Figuring out where to put the nest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Knowing what the parents need to eat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Prompting your finches to breed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Understanding the incubation period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Feeding and weaning chicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Knowing What to Do When Something Goes Wrong . . . . . . . . 134
Egg binding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Infertile eggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Inexperienced parent birds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Tossing the chicks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Failure to thrive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Finding foster parents for your babies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Handfeeding baby finches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Finding good homes
for your baby finches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Discouraging Breeding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

PART 4: THE PART OF TENS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

CHAPTER 10: Ten Great Finch Websites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

CHAPTER 11: Ten Fun DIY Toys for Finches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

INDEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Table of Contents vii

Introduction
F
inches are charming companions, adding a little bit of life
to an empty corner of any home. Whether you plan on hav-
ing just a pair, or would like a whole aviary full, finches
offer a glimpse into the natural world, and give owners hours of
watching and listening pleasure. They are easy to care for, rela-
tively quiet, and some are prettier than a rainbow. What more
could you ask for in a birdy friend?

About This Book

Finches For Dummies is a book I wrote for people interested in
finches. Maybe you just bought finches or a canary and need the
essential scoop on getting set up as well as general care informa-
tion. Or, you may already have finches and you need a refresher
on the best way to take care of your companions or want to under-
stand them better. Perhaps you’re ready for a new feathered
friend but aren’t sure if finches are right for you and your family.
If any of the above describes you, keep on readin’.

As you read, keep an eye out for text in italics, which indicates a
new term and a nearby definition — no need to spend time hunt-
ing through a glossary. And monofont points out web addresses
for additional information worth checking out. You’ll also run
into a few sidebars (the occasional gray box); although the infor-
mation in the sidebars is good, it’s not essential to the discussion
at hand, so skip ’em if you want to.

Introduction 1
Foolish Assumptions
In writing Finches For Dummies, I made some assumptions about
my readers:

»» You’re one of the millions of people who wants finches or

who has a family member who wants one (or more) and
you’ve come to this book to learn about their care.

»» You already have a canary or some finches, maybe a pair

or a flock, and you want to brush up on finch care and
learn a few things that you don’t already know.

»» Maybe you’re a volunteer at a bird shelter or rescue and

you want to be able to educate your adopters more
thoroughly.

»» Perhaps you want to begin breeding these popular little

birds and want some information on how to make that
process go smoothly.

Whatever the case, whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned finch

guardian, there’s something in this book for you.

Icons Used in This Book

While reading Finches For Dummies, be on the lookout for these
icons, sprinkled here and there:

This icon flags tips and tricks that will help you be the best finch
friend you can be.

This icon points out information that’s so important you’ll want

to be sure to remember it.

This icon highlights information on things that could harm you

or your finches.

2 Finches For Dummies

 This icon flags information that you can use to impress your
friends with your amazing bird knowledge, but it isn’t absolutely
necessary, so don’t feel the need to memorize it.

Beyond the Book

You can find a little more helpful finches-related information on
https://www.dummies.com, where you can peruse this book’s
Cheat Sheet. To get this handy resource, go to the website and
type Finches For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.

Where to Go from Here

Finches For Dummies is a reference, so you don’t have to read it in
order from start to finish. Begin with Chapter 5 if you need basic
setup information, flip to Chapter 9 if you’re thinking about
breeding finches, or head to Chapter 2 if you’re still on the fence
about adding finches to your family. (Although those of you who
prefer to start at the beginning and read until you reach the back
cover are welcome to do so. I’ll never tell.)

Introduction 3
1
Introducing
Finches
IN THIS PART . . .

Finding out if finches are perfect

for you

Exploring the various species of finches

Finding the right finches for your family

 IN THIS CHAPTER

»» Knowing what a finch is

»» Understanding finch anatomy
»» Looking at the different varieties
of finches
»» Getting in touch with finch clubs
and societies

Chapter 1
Finches: More
Than Just Pretty,
Chatty Birds

T
he term finch is actually a very broad term, encompassing
hundreds of species and subspecies, from canaries to
sparrows. In general, finches are small songbirds that
come in an amazing variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. They all
have short, cone-shaped bills adapted to the type of food they
typically eat. All finches are seed eaters, but most will eat other
vegetation and insects as well.

Finches have been kept as companions for hundreds of years. The

Chinese and Japanese have been breeding finches since the
1600s — for example, the society finch (also known as the Ben-
galese finch) is not found in the wild because it was developed
(domesticated) by humans, much as breeds of dogs were. It’s also
one of the most widely kept finches today. The canary is the old-
est domesticated bird, having been bred in captivity for many
centuries, and, like dogs, bred for certain traits, such as color,
feather type, or song (its ancestor, the serin finch, is still found in

CHAPTER 1 Finches: More Than Just Pretty, Chatty Birds 7

 the wild in the Canary Islands). Finches that have a long history
with humans do very well as companion birds. They tend to be
hardier and less skittish than other types of birds, who haven’t
been around the bird scene for as long.

In the following sections, I show you what makes a finch a finch.

Where Finches Come From

Because they comprise such a large group, finches are found in
every corner of the world. Even the Galapagos Islands are home to
13 species of finches, all of which were studied by famed British
naturalist, Charles Darwin. The finch was one of the animals used
in Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which posits that ecolog-
ical and social pressures can actually change an animal’s
physiology.

If you’re reading this in the United States, you can only keep
finches that aren’t native to North America. This goes for all
birds, actually. If a bird is native to North America, housing it is
illegal unless you have a permit or are a licensed bird rescuer.
Birds that fall into this category include the American goldfinch,
the cardinal, and the pine siskin, among others.

Most of the companion finches available for purchase are native

to other countries but were bred in captivity where you live. As of
1992, it is illegal to import birds from other countries under the
Wild Bird Conservation Act.

The Life of a Wild Finch

Some finches are very social by nature. They live and forage in
flocks, sometimes numbering into the hundreds. This is why
people rarely keep finches alone — with the exception of the
canary, who likes company only during breeding season, and
otherwise does not prefer a cagemate. Most finches do not do
well unless they are in a pair or a flock. Wild finches feed mostly
on grass and weed seeds, and eat insects as well, usually during

8 PART 1 Introducing Finches

 the breeding season, and feed them to their young. They sleep in
soft nests at night, even when not breeding. As a small, defense-
less prey bird, they rely heavily on their senses and their quick-
ness for survival.

Finches will pair off within a flock. These are generally mating
pairs, although not always. Occasionally, two males — or two
females — will choose to become companions. Pairings do not
always last for life, but while they are together, pair companions
stay very close to one another within the flock. They forage
together, groom each other, and nest together at night.

Most finches are monogamous, but some, like the orange weaver,
keep a harem and will chase off other males who try to invade
their territory. Other finches, such as the whydah, are considered
parasitic, laying their eggs in other birds’ nests so that those birds
can take over incubation and rearing duties. They rely on these
other birds the way parasites rely on other animals to survive.

The Many Species of Finches

One of the more fascinating things about finches is their seeming
endless variety. They range from very delicate to very hardy birds,
in all colors of the rainbow. Some are drab and others are excep-
tionally vivid. Many species are dimorphic, which means that you
can distinguish the gender of the bird just by looking at it. Others
are monomorphic, which means that you can’t visually distinguish
the genders of the birds.

All finches are scientifically grouped under the order Passeri-

formes. Passerines (which is what birds in the Passeriformes order
are called) comprise more than half of the bird species in the
world, with nearly 5,400 members. Not all Passerines are finches,
but all finches are Passerines.

Though no one expects you to become an ornithologist (someone

who studies birds), in order to provide a good home for your com-
panion finches, it can be helpful to understand where your bird is

CHAPTER 1 Finches: More Than Just Pretty, Chatty Birds 9

 classified in the scheme of things. Here are the four different
groups of finches:

»» Fringillidae: The more than 200 (some sources say 227)

members 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 com-
panion in Europe since the 16th century, perhaps even earlier.

10 PART 1 Introducing Finches

FIGURE 1-1:
Canaries
are among
the most
popular
types of
finch.
youlia20 / 123 RF

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.

CHAPTER 1 Finches: More Than Just Pretty, Chatty Birds 11

 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 spe-
cial 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.

Isselee / 123 RF

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 prod-
ucts, 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.

12 PART 1 Introducing Finches

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