Orange-cheeked waxbill

[dpedersen]

Say an orange-cheeked waxbill is plucked bald all around her neck. Is this the result of normal allopreening or problem behavior?

I've read that some species it is normal for males to pull some of the female's feathers out in the courting process, but someone recently told me this about orange cheeks. I'd never heard it before and have no experience with them.

[L in Ontario]

If they are anything like my Cuban Finches - it's perfectly normal. My CF hen looks like she's been plucked all around her neck too. Silly males!

[Hilary]

My orange cheeks often pluck each other. I have a male I had to separate from his mate because she made him into a tiny little bald-headed vulture. He's just now starting to show feather growth on his head again, and it's been several months.

[annague]

I have a pair of OC WB's and they are always preening -- the male preened away the feathers on one side of her head so much that when they grew back they were black!

However, this is the first and only time he plucked her so hard that she had a bald spot on her cheek for a while...