Which Species?

[Sorria]

So, now that I've found out that my cage really isn't big enough for all the finches I have in it (I'll probably move a few into some spare cages I have lying around). In the future, I've pretty much decided that I'll probably keep a total of four finches, or two pairs of opposite speicies of finch. For those of you that missed my other post, my finches' cage dimentions are:

Height: 2'8"
Width: 1'8"
Length: 2'10"

The cage is in an unheated area, though it is the warmest room in the house with an overhead lamp, a fluorescent light and a computer which tends to keep the room fairly warm, especially when the computer is on. I also do live in Florida, so it doesn't often get very cold here except in maybe December-February. If it gets very cold, we do have a "donut" which is a little pink disk that is popped into the microwave and set under a dog bed, up against a bird cage, whatever the case may be, to warm the area. The cage is somewhat close to a window, but I would say no closer than five feet from it. I am in the "bird room" quite often, but other than that it is in a fairly low-traffic area. They are slightly elevated up on a table, as we have two Siberian Huskies, that I would prefer didn't learn to take an interest in the finches. The current cage has three feed dishes, two automatic water dispensers (that usually get changed every day anway), and a bird bath that I keep filled except on colder days. There are four perches (one a branch perch) at varioius levels, three nests as well as a parakeet swing and a tiny bell that they enjoy playing with. They are fed primarily a seed diet but do have acess to a cuttle bone and frequent "treats" including mango, celery, banana, ect.

My ultimate question is, given the current set-up (which is probably how I'll keep it) which finch species would fit best into this kind of environment when I do only keep two pairs. I know some finches need heating and some may be too big to do well with another pair of other finch in the cage so any insight you have into species that may do well in this set up, I'd be much appreciative.

[Sally]

As I said in another post, the easiest numbers to work with are 2 to a cage or 6 or more to a cage. I would not have one of the pairs be Zebras, they are too pushy. One of the pairs could be Societies, and the other Gouldians, Stars, Owls, Cordon Bleus, whatever you like and can afford.