The National Finch and Softbill Society

Finch and Softbill Save Program Guidelines

Definition and Purpose:

The National Finch and Softbill Society established the FinchSave program in 1988. Although, thru the years, the program requirements have changed, the definition and purpose of the program have not. The long-term goal of the Finch and Softbill Save program is to establish a consortium of breeders of finches and softbills dedicated to producing and maintaining a viable captive-bred population of finches and softbills in the United States and Canada. The short-term goal of the program is to establish consistent breeding success with participating species in the United States and Canada.

Program Requirements:

Participants must meet the following requirements in order to participate in the Finch and Softbill Save program:

• Participants must be NFSS members in good standing
• Tier One participants must agree to open band all offspring with appropriate sized open numbered bands.
• Tier Two participants must agree to close band all offspring with appropriate sized closed bands.
• Participants must complete quarterly reports
• There is no pair limit requirement at this time

Species Captain Roles:

The Finch and Softbill Save program will continue to incorporate the use of Species Captains. Species Captains are responsible for gathering information from participants, getting birds into participants' hands, monitoring bloodlines, communicating with participants and assisting participants with any problems that they may have. Individuals interested in being a Species Captain will be responsible (with the oversight by the Group Manager), in contributing information on their particular species for the newsletter. Species Captains will need to be proactive and work with participants registered with the finch or softbill species of which they are Captains. Each Species Captain will be responsible for providing information on their particular bird to put together a species profile. The committee would like to see Species Captains have repeated success in breeding the bird they are applying for overseeing. If you have the time to devote we would like to encourage you to apply for a Species Captain position.

Group Manager Roles:

The Finch and Softbill Save program will continue to incorporate the use of Group Managers. The Group Managers are responsible for supervising all the Species Captains in their group of birds and, if no Species Captain is appointed for a particular species, responsible for acting as the Species Captain for that species. Group Managers will need to work closely with their Species Captains to compile information on species they are overseeing. We would like to see Group Managers have repeated breeding success with several birds they are applying to oversee. The Group Managers will head the following groups:

All Australian Finches All Waxbills All African Finches All Indo-Pacific Finches		All European Finches All South American Finches All Softbills
(Please note the groupings listed above are currently being re-evaluated by the Finch and Softbill Save Committee. Members will be notified of changes. Do not let our current evaluation of the groupings deter you from applying for a Group Manager position.)

List of Finch and Softbill Save Excluded Birds:

The Finch and Softbill Save Committee has reviewed and changed the current list of excluded birds for the Finch and Softbill Save Program as follows:

• The Shafttail or Heck's Grassfinch will now be incorporated into the program. At the time when FinchSave was developed, the Shafttail was very well established in U.S. aviculture and had been excluded. Upon reviewing its status today, the Committee feels that the Shafttail is not as commonly available in U.S. aviculture and would benefit from being included in the program.
• Dove and quail will be excluded from the program at this time. The committee can review this again at a later date.
• The Lady Gouldian Finch, the Society Finch, the Java Rice Bird, and the Zebra Finch will be excluded from the program at this time (the Timor Zebra Finch will be included in the program). The committee will review these again at a later date.

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Multi-Tier Program:

The Finch and Softbill Save Committee has chosen to establish a multi-tier program for Finch and Softbill Save. One of the biggest changes that has been made to the Finch and Softbill Save program was the lifting of the requirement for close banding to qualify for registering with the program. This will be achieved through establishing a multi-tier program. In the past, many have voiced an interest in participating in the program but did not close band their offspring. By establishing a multi-tier program, we will hopefully reach those individuals who would like to join the program.

Tier One:

Tier One of the program will lift the requirement on close banding. The Finch and Softbill Save Program, however, requires that Tier One participants band all their offspring with open (split) numbered bands. You cannot register the same species of bird in both Tier One and Tier Two of the program. You must choose either Tier One or Tier Two per bird species. You may register a certain species in Tier One and others in Tier Two and vice versa. Upon enrollment, the participant will decide which species will be registered in each tier of the program.

Tier Two:

Tier Two of the program will require close banding of all birds registered with the program. Participants registering with the program will choose either Tier One or Tier Two for each particular species they are registering with the program. All offspring produced by Tier Two registered birds must be close banded.

The following are sources to purchase open split and closed numbered bands:

• National Finch & Softbill Society (NFSS) http://www.nfss.com/Bands/NFSSbands.html
   
• American Federation of Aviculture (AFA), 816-421-2473, http://www.afabirds.org/AFA_Store/index.shtml
   
• Red Bird Products (530) 620-7440, http://www.redbirdproducts.com/ 
   
• L&M Bird Leg Bands (909) 882-4649, http://home.earthlink.net/~lmbird/ 

If members know of other sources that can be listed, please contact the FSS Director.

Tier Three and Beyond:

The Finch and Softbill Save Committee is currently working on incorporating a Tier Three for the Finch and Softbill Save Program. Tier Three will be geared towards those hobbyists who will adhere to strict record keeping, the required use of specific breeding management software and the required trading of bloodlines on a yearly basis. This level of the program is intended for individuals who may be looking to apply for a cooperative breeding program permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Canadian Wildlife Service and for those individuals who are very serious about establishing a genetically viable captive-bred population of bird species. More information on Tier Three will be provided at a later date.

Membership Fee:

At the current time, there is no fee to participate in the Finch and Softbill Save program. However, one must be an NFSS member in good standing. Failure to renew your NFSS membership will result in your expulsion from the Finch and Softbill Save Program.

Quarterly Reports:

Quarterly reports will be required of all Finch and Softbill Save participants regardless of which Tier(s) they are registered in. A form will be mailed to you via regular mail or sent electronically if desired for you to complete. All forms must be completed and returned to the FSS Director within 45 days. Individuals who do not submit a quarterly report will receive one reminder to do so. A second missed quarterly report will result in your expulsion from the program.

The whole premise behind the Finch and Softbill Save Program is to establish captive-bred populations of bird species in the US and Canada. It is through the information contained in the quarterly reports that we will be able to put together Species Profiles on the birds registered in the program, be able to track the population increase in registered species, and keep track of the diverse bloodlines. The information about how you successfully bred your birds will be very useful to others who are also trying to be successful.

The Finch and Softbill Save Newsletter:

The Finch and Softbill Save newsletter has been discontinued. The information garnered from the Finch and Softbill Save program is of interest to all fanciers and will be published in the Journal of the National Finch and Softbill Society.

The Finch and Softbill Save Yahoo! Group:

A new Yahoo! Group has been created specifically for Finch and Softbill Save participants: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Finch_SoftbillSave/. This group will facilitate the dissemination and discussion of information regarding the program (its purpose, administration, and guidelines), as well as allow communication between participants for the purpose of obtaining and selling stock or trading bloodlines within the program. Husbandry topics, however, should be directed to the NFSS husbandry forum, where the discussion can reach the largest audience.

Security Feature:

All participants will be given a unique identification number upon registering with Finch and Softbill Save. No personal information will be published in any NFSS publication or on our website without permission of the participant. Many individuals have conveyed to me their concerns with publishing their personal information for security and/or other reasons. Participants will now have the option of publishing only their identification number. An example below:

Goldbreasted waxbill
Name	Location	Contact Information
Mary Smith	Des Moines, IA	(mary-smith@anywhere.net)
3313FS452	(n/a)	(contact FinchSave Director)
4434-FS231	(n/a)	(contact FinchSave Director)

We know everyone is already thinking, what if I am interested in contacting #3313FS452 about acquiring some Goldbreasted Waxbills? Here is how the procedure will work. Tom Black is interested in reaching FSS member #3313FS452. Tom Black will contact the Finch and Softbill Save Director who in turn will contact #3313FS452. #3313FS452 will be given contact information for Tom Black. #3313FS452 then has the option of contacting Tom Black directly or authorizing the Finch and Softbill Save Director to release contact information to Tom Black to reach #3313FS452. Your personal information and who you allow access to it will always BE IN YOUR HANDS.

Those of you who have no problem with us publishing personal information are allowed to do so. We are incorporating this security feature into the program for those individuals who choose to refrain from publishing their personal information but would still like to participate in the program.

What YOU can do to make the program more successful:

We encourage all FSS participants to recruit fellow hobbyists to join the program. If anyone needs extra program materials to give to an interested party, please do not hesitate to contact the FSS Director.

Contribute. Contribute. Contribute. If you have time on your hands and experience with any of the birds included in the program, apply for a Species Captain or Group Manager position.

Complete your quarterly reports on time and work closely with your Species Manager to provide him/her with as much detail as possible on the birds you are working with. Taking the time to be actively involved in the program is of benefit to us all.