The Common Waxbill *Questions*

[mayble]

I have a pair of St Helens only because a major broker mixed them up with Black rumps in my order. They're lovely but I wasn't intending to branch out into another species!
Anyone in Michigan working with them?

[lovezebs]

Colt & Rox & MariusStegmann & wessel & finchmix22 & all others who had joined in this discussion, these are the kids I picked up. What are they? Red Ear, Red Eyebrow, Common , St Helena, Red Rump, Black Rump Pink Rump (they do kinda have a pink rump)????

I was hoping for a boy and a girl, but both are singing and dancing.....

[Colt]

Girl...lol Sally is good with waxbills. I'm pretty clueless on them.

[Sally]

Once I see a photo, I MAY be able to help, but not always. With many of these waxbills, there is confusion with the common names. Only scientific names can be counted on to be correct. Same with the plant world. I once drove an hour to a nursery that said it had a plant I was wanting, and when I arrived, it was a totally different plant--I should have used scientific name, would have saved myself some time and gas.

[lovezebs]

Sally
Good grief, Sally. Did I forget to post pictures. I am truly losing my mind, or maybe lost it already.

Here are the pictures...

[lovezebs]

And...

[KarenB]

Those look like red-eared waxbills to me.

[w.l.]

Yes, red-eared alias black-rumped waxbills.
Funny that the seller couldn't tell you what he was selling...

[lovezebs]

KarenB
Hi Karen.
Are they supposed to have pink bums?

[w.l.]

You were asking Karen but...

Yes, they are.

[lovezebs]

w.l.
Oh ok. Then why do they call them 'black rump'?

~Elana~

[w.l.]

They should be pinkish below and black on the upper side of tail and rump. There should also be thin white lines on the sides of the tail. Your photos aren't clear enough to show all detail.

[lovezebs]

w.l.
I know the pictures are not clear. I have a camera that is temperamental. Some days it takes clear photos, other days not if your life depended on it.

Plus these little guys are still flighty and nervous, so it's difficult to snap detailed, clear picts of their little rumps.

~Elana~

[Sally]

They look like Black-rumped waxbills to me. The pink bums are really more like pink in the vent area--the rump is above, not below the tail, causing confusion. People often look at the vent area as the rump. Check out this article at www.finchinfo.com for terms of anatomy:

http://www.finchinfo.com/physiology/bir ... _terms.php

[lovezebs]

w.l. & Sally.
Thanks for answering my question.
Now for the BIG question. How on earth do I pick out girls for my two 'boys' ? I was so sure I had one of each.

~Elana~