Educational Outreach
Questions & Answers

Welcome to the NFSS Question & Answer area, where we will list questions of general interest to our members.  

Fat Birds

Question:

Until last year my Red-faced Crimson-wings were housed in a communal flight with assorted Australian Finches and African Waxbills. They were really shy and spent the whole day on the floor. Last year I moved them into a cage by themselves, they sleep in a wicker nest every night but have not attempted to breed. They get mealworms, Cede egg food and dried insects each day in addition to the regular seed.

Answer:

Crimson-wings are terrestrial by nature and do spend much of their time on or close to the ground searching for small insects. Your observation is correct, they are easily intimidated by all but the smallest of Waxbills and usually hide near the ground or in a wicker next basket.

These birds are best housed in small aviaries by themselves where they can get lots of exercise. Even in a flight cage four feet long they become fat very easily and then show little interest in breeding.

To maintain Crimson-wings in good health they should be fed an austerity diet when not breeding and their need for spacious accommodation cannot be over-stressed.

When breeding any birds, certain stimuli have to be provided by the breeder. These stimuli include increased daylight hours (around 14 hours for this species) and an increase in live food and other high-protein foods. Although shy of other birds Crimson-wings are quite calm with their owners and usually do not resent the occasional nest inspection. They also seem to prefer white nesting material, bleached sisal works very well (This can be obtained by visiting your local hardware store and buying a ball of bleached sisal string. Cut it into 2 inch lengths and unwind it into single strands before giving it to the birds.)

To see if your birds are fat you will need to catch them up and check their abdomen area. Crimson-wings (sometimes called Mountain Finches) have an extraordinary amount of down feathers which may not separate when lightly blown on, so be prepared to move the feathers aside with your fingers if necessary. Any fat will show up as a yellow deposit immediately under the skin. If your birds are fat you are wasting your time attempting to breed with them until you have slimmed them down.

Another bird that commonly suffers form obesity is the Blue-breasted (Forbes) Parrot-finch, these too require very spacious accommodation. 

Grant Rishman

Cordons Not Incubating Eggs at Night

Question:

My Red-cheeked Cordon Bleus are housed in an all-wire cage measuring 36" long, 20" deep and 24" high. Fir branches are twist-tied inside the cage at both ends to give some privacy. The birds laid 4 eggs about ten days ago which they incubate during the day. Each night they sleep at the opposite end of the cage. Will the eggs still hatch?

Answer:

When birds are first introduced into a new cage they will roost at night where they feel most secure. It is a good idea not to give them a nest immediately, rather wait and see where they choose to roost and this is where the nest should be sited.

Although Cordon Bleus are generally nervous nesters they will breed successfully in a cage of this size. Your birds are not incubating the eggs at night because they feel safer at the opposite end of the cage. This first clutch of eggs has been lost and should be removed to allow your birds to lay a further clutch. Before you allow them to lay again move the nest into a new position as close as possible to their preferred roosting site.

Unless you know your birds really well DO NOT inspect the nest as it will cause them to dessert eggs and chicks. To raise chicks successfully they will require live food (small mealworms and white worms) and a good quality egg food.

Grant Rishman

Anting

Question:

I sometimes see my Silver-eared Mesias take ants and press them into their feathers. Are they "anting" and, if so, what actually is "anting"?  If the ant 'stings' them in their eye will their third eyelid protect them?

Answer:

When a bird "ants" it is using the formic acid excreted by the ants as an insecticide to rid itself of bothersome parasites. Although many softbills do "ant", Silver-eared Mesias do not. It is far more likely they are pressing the ants into their abdomen to see if they are stinging insects. If the insect does not sting it is consumed immediately, however if the insect does sting the bird will kill it and wait for the stinger to stop reflexing in and out. It is quite comical to see a family of Mesias each waiting for the reflexes to stop before devouring its prize. Observations show this behavior seems to be instinctive in Mesias but for some reason with the closely related Pekin Robin it has to be learned. You should note, it is not a good idea to use ants as a regular source of live food as they can pick up all kinds of harmful insecticides and bacteria and pass them onto the birds.

The primary function of the third eyelid, or nictitating membrane, is to move laterally across the eye spreading tear secretion to moisten the cornea and to protect against micro-organisms. Although many insectivorous softbills, like flycatchers and Shamas, close the membrane when they eat flying insects it is unlikely to provide them with much protection if they are stung in the eye.

Grant Rishman

Substitutions for Live Food

Question:

I am interested in breeding softbills but am not very keen on the prospect of having live insects in my basement. Can I substitute egg food or something else for the mealworms?

Answer:

Although it is possible to buy prepared foods that have protein levels as high as live insects these usually do not work very well with softbills, for the simple reason they are ignored by the birds. The softbills' instincts tell them their chicks need LIVE food, although this will eventually change as the species are captive bred to more and more generations. Even if a softbill is frugivorous or omnivorous they always revert to being almost totally insectivorous when they commence breeding. Most softbills have very specific demands as far as live food is concerned and very few (if any) will raise their young totally on mealworms.

The common House Cricket (Achetus domesticus) is preferred by softbills of all sizes (and some finches too - Red-crested Finch, Red-faced Crimson-wing etc). Some of the smaller species (White-eyes, sunbirds etc) will rarely take mealworms when breeding but will prefer baby crickets (instars). Small babblers (Pekin Robins, Mesias, Sivas etc) will also require other live food in addition to mealworms. Crickets can be purchased commercially and frozen, with enough bugs being thawed out each time they are fed. In this way the bird breeder is not populating the basement or neighbors' gardens. Initially it is necessary to add mealworms to the dish, the birds are attracted by the movement of the worms and devour the mealworms and the thawed crickets. Once the birds are accustomed to feeding on the crickets the mealworms can be discontinued. Feeder goldfish and pinkie mice can also be used for some softbills (even as small as babblers) although with the former it soon smells like you are breeding seagulls and if you are concerned about insects the latter is obviously totally unthinkable.

Grant Rishman

Sexing Red Headed Parrot Finches

Question:

"How do you sex red headed parrot finches? Also is there a "song" difference between male and female?"

Answer:

This is the kind of question every bird breeder hates. As soon as you offer advice on how to sex birds somebody will come up with a different and "more reliable" method. The male Red-headed Parrot-finch is generally accepted as having a darker and more extensive red area on the head and throat. Many breeders feel if the red extends behind the eye the bird is a male, while others feel the red extends further down the throat on the males. This is probably the most reliable method of visually sexing these birds but the unfortunate truth here is that some hens do show brighter or larger areas of red than some males do. It can also be noted that cock birds generally have rump feathers that fall over the rump area, whereas hen rump feathers tend to go straight back.

Behavior is often a good indication of sex. This will sound terribly "sexist" in human terms, but the "job" of the male is to look good and attract the females, while her job is to sit quietly on the nest and be overlooked by any predators. To the experienced eye the male is usually more robust and out-going while the hen is subtle and quieter in her actions.

The Red-headed Parrot-finch, like all the other Melanesian Parrot-finches has four distinct calls. The location call (for locating others of the same species), the contact call (for staying in contact with its mate), the trilling call (probably the most often heard call in captivity), and the song. Dr Klaus Immelmann, in his German book Vogel in Kafig und Voliere: Prachtfinken, published in 1968, states there is a sexual distinction between the trilling call of the two sexes. The males utters a high-pitched "trill" while the female's is a more plaintive "tsee". Once this has been heard it is a fairly reliable way to determine the sexes.

Grant Rishman and Kerri McCoy