New female finch - identify?

[soloisok]

Being new here, I hate to sound/look too ignorant right off the bat but I rarely hesitate to ask a question so here goes...

I was somewhat talked into taking in an unwanted finch and she is a sweet but puzzling little thing. I am keeping her in quarantine as I observe and get to know her.

Her coloring is a puzzle to me and I haven't been able to take any worthwhile pictures to help you help me find the answer so I'll do my best to describe her. I've looked at a gazillion pictures on the internet so I can give you some comparisons.

Generally speaking she is:
very light, maybe somewhat silver on white in color
has lightly visible teardrop under eyes
very light silvery tail bars and lacey pattern on back/wings
Orange beak though not bright red-orange

Her head almost looks like a very light recessive silver pictured on
the bottom picture http://www.efinch.com/species/rszeb.htm

Or
If you look at the European Isabel (dark form - Fawn Isabel)
http://www.efinch.com/species/ffxisabelzeb.htm
substitute the fawn/buff for a very light silver and a white belly and add a faint teardrop.

Can I get any more weird?

Uneducated finch admirer,
Stephani

1 pair phaeo, 2 pair zebra, one peculiar sweet silverish female

[babydoll101]

She sounds like my female




sorry the pics are not that good.

[Nagdabit]

Couple of Questions: Where are you located? If in the states probably not an Isabel, while there are some trickling around over here,Isabel is more of an European mutation. Secondly is the hen in question related to your Phaeos at all? Do you have any idea at all of her heritage? My initial impression is a Single Factor Florida Fancy hen (aka. Florida Silver) Does she look similar to this guy? (without the male markings of course)

http://www.efinch.com/birdpix4/sfff.jpg

Florida Silvers can vary greatly in their base color, going anywhere from the fawnish color of the guy in the picture to an almost white / very light gray. Although it doesn't show very well our avatar pic is a male SF/FF of ours that is in the very pale grayish range. The one constant is the flecked / streaked pattern of silvery color that permeates throughout the base color. And since Florida Fancy works to suppress the black markings, a Single Factor Florida Fancy can sometimes have teardrops that aren't as vibrant as your average Zebra Finch.

Actually in looking through some of our pics I found one my wife took of of one of our Florida Silver hens. Does your little girl look anything like her?



While I'm at it, here's a pic of Keoke, the male in our avatar pic. Since his flecked color is similar to his base color it doesn't stand out quite as prominently.

[soloisok]

Erica, what beautiful birds! My lil girl is much, much lighter.
She looks like a slightly dirty white from across the room but when you’re next to her you realize she actually has a lovely pattern.



Nagdabit, I completely agree and knew it was highly unlikely she is an Isabel, that’s just the closest picture I’d found.

She is in no way related to my very special phaeo finches. I bought them directly from a high quality breeder, Clarence Culwell, while this lil girl came from a young couple who knew nothing of birds, only had her and realized she was lonely.

She does look more like your Florida Silver hen, only much lighter but the exact same patterns and tear drop.
All three of your pictures show gorgeous birds!

Thank you both sssooo much for your kind, helpful responses.

~Stephani

[Sally]

Just thought I'd mention that Clarence Culwell is an NFSS judge, a breeder, an exhibitor, and the President of the Ft. Worth Bird Club--a good man to know! Stephani, are you planning to attend the Ft. Worth Bird Mart next Saturday?

[soloisok]

Hi, Sally!

You are so right, I can't sing Mr. Culwell's praises enough!
Yes, yes, yes! I scheduled my grandson's birthday party for early evening so mom and I could come to the bird mart.
We will be there with bells on waiting for it to open!

Hoping to pick up 1-3 more unrelated zebras. Don't want to do more than that.
Although we have a very, very large main cage and another large one too, (actually a total of 5 cages if we want to use them) I like for them to have lots of room to have some babies and still have plenty of space. I do like to keep the pairs unrelated for healthy birds.

[soloisok]

Now this is probably a loaded question to which I may or may not understand all the answers...
Going to the Bird Mart Saturday, I will be looking for a sweet little mate for this lil girl (possibly a Florida Silver).

The 2 regular Zebra pairs we have now are not very colorful (although they are a joy to observe ).
Our Phaeo pair are stunningly beautiful and we can hardly wait to see their offspring.

Color is not crucial to us, we love them all for their adorable antics and personalities. But I don't want to pair my lil new female with a regular Zebra if it's just going to dilute the colors more. She is so pretty, extra friendly and responsive. I'm really enjoying her. No doubt my priority at the bird mart will be finding the sweetest male possible regardless of color but it would be fun to put her with a male that would end up producing extra pretty babies. Might as well take advantage of the fact that her color is so different.

Thoughts? Or have I completely lost everyone by now?

[Nagdabit]

Anything in the Florida Fancy line should work well in getting you the results you desire. The thing with Florida Fancies though is that they can come in quite a wide variety.

http://www.efinch.com/species/ffzeb.htm

Since you've been doing a good bit of research. I'd imagine you've already been to this site and read up on the mutation. The one thing you may not have noticed is this particular kind of SF/FF. Check out this pic of the guy who looks suspiciously like a regular Normal Gray.

http://www.efinch.com/birdpix4/sf_df_ff.jpg.

Back when we first started raising Zebras, the very first offspring our flock produced (Kaleo) looked exactly like this guy. We had no idea at the time what he actually was and when the time came for him to raise a clutch of his own, all of a sudden these very interesting looking chicks started to appear. Eventually Kaleo and his little brother that looked just like him (Izzy) produced a whole pile of Florida Silvers, running the full gamut in shades and coloring.

Another thing to remember with Zebras is that they are famous for retaining splits to any number of different mutations. Sometime these splits can stay hidden for generations. So despite your best efforts, and very much unlike other species of finches, Zebras can be extremely unpredictable when it comes to planning offspring. True, there are some hard and fast rules when it come to recessive, dominant, and sex linked traits, it's just that in many cases you have no clue as to what mutations are at work in the bird and how they will react with it's intended mate.

Since you are planning on purchasing at the bird mart, the breeders there should be able to give you a run down on the heritage of any bird you are intending to buy, so that should help to narrow the focus a little.

And by the way we understand exactly what you mean buy trying to bridge the gap between finding a mate for her that has both nice coloring and a sweet disposition. Fortunately, our first few birds were sweethearts and we have made a concentrated effort to see to it that those personality traits have followed through several generations later. After observing our young for some time, personality plays every bit as important a role in deciding who we keep as coloring does.

Hope you find your little girl a nice one.

[soloisok]

Nagdabit,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. You put it perfectly.
The webpage you referenced is one of my favorites since it shows what one of my Culwell birds looks like.

I will definitely check out any Florida Fancies with good temperament being my benchmark.
Sounds like my old habits will prevail. I take all my animals seriously, maybe with a tendency to over think my choices but it has served me well. I spent 4 yrs choosing my current dog, visiting/interviewing breeders and did not end up with the color, size or sex I thought I wanted, but have been rewarded everyday having chosen temperament over all else.

I’m so excited at the prospect of finding her a suitable mate!
Amusing how such small creatures can evoke such delight.