Owl Finches

Post by **Hilary** » Sun May 14, 2006 8:39 pm

Congrats!! Did you end up bringing them on the plane? Breeders both look great, by the way. Wish I lived in CA..... Hilary

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Mon May 15, 2006 11:08 pm

My 4 little troopers. A few more photos can also be found in the gallery. :)

Post by **Hilary** » Mon May 15, 2006 11:33 pm

They're beautiful! Give them more millet - they deserve it!

They don't look the worse for wear for their long trip. Hilary

Sally H · Post by **Sally H** » Mon May 15, 2006 11:59 pm

GORGEOUS!

*drool*

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Tue May 16, 2006 7:01 am

Lovely birds. I hope they give you lots of chicks.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:45 pm

Hey Crystal,

How are your Owls doing?

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:48 pm

All 4 are doing great and almost done with their treatments (they just need ronivet), so they will be released into their outdoor flight soon where they are given every opportunity to breed. I tested all four birds (by keeping one in a cage alone by itself for about 10 minutes while the other 3 were within earshot but not visible) and 2 are definitely males (they sing when they are in a cage by themselves) and 2 seem to be hens (no singing). I got recordings of the 2 males' songs and they are fairly different from each other... I plan to post them as soon as I write up the owl finch species profile for my site. I've been kept busy but hopefully I'll find the time soon.

And hopefully I'll have some nest building as soon as I get them into the flight, and eggs and chicks shortly after that... we'll see.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:53 pm

Terrific news. So glad these birds weren't lost for good.

We're all waiting anxiously for those first owl chicks.

MadHatter · Post by **MadHatter** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:31 am

Crystal:
In terms of sex, do you know which bird is which in your photo?

I'm gunna have a go at it, and I'm hoping you can tell me how I did:

The one in the very front is almost certainly a cock, the rest are a little trickier, but i'd say the 'upside-down' one on the wire on the right is the other cock. Thus the two remaining birds are both hens...

Anyone else wanna hazard a guess?

JeannetteD · Post by **JeannetteD** » Wed May 24, 2006 10:49 am

Interesting.. But for the life of me I can't see any differences in the 4 birds. What are you basing your guesses on, Mad??

Jeannette

Post by **Hilary** » Wed May 24, 2006 10:51 am

See, I would say that the two to the left are the cocks and the two to the right are the hens (based on head color and head/beak shape).

Hilary

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Wed May 24, 2006 12:56 pm

I'll post a photo with the cocks and hens labeled after you guys are done guessing. :)

MadHatter · Post by **MadHatter** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:35 pm

JeannetteD wrote:Interesting.. But for the life of me I can't see any differences in the 4 birds. What are you basing your guesses on, Mad??

Jeannette

My guesses are based primarily on the width of the crown of the head, beyond that, the intensity of the markings...

MadHatter · Post by **MadHatter** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:38 pm

Hilary wrote:See, I would say that the two to the left are the cocks and the two to the right are the hens (based on head color and head/beak shape).

Hilary

That was my first impression to, but apon looking closer the crown of the bird on the far right appears wider than that of the bird on the left, and its beak looks more robust...

JeannetteD · Post by **JeannetteD** » Wed May 24, 2006 5:44 pm

Ahh.. alright, thanks, Mad. I still dont see it, but I dont have the practice you do! LOL

Jeannette