FINCHforum

Hey all! I have apparently two St. Helena finches, but one does not fit the description completely on the species section of the Finch Info Ctr.
I am attaching pics, although there is shadow due to sun. Try and see if anyone can confirm if the finch in question is a female St. Helena or a Red ear?? Thanks.

Here are a few more pics that I tried to catch the underside and feathers, but the sun was causing a shadow. Hope someone can tell if this is a St. Helena or red ear. Thanks.

go to http://www.finchinfo.com/birds/finches/ ... /index.php

I had St Helena...the chest has a rosey coloring to it.

Cindy,
What about the black tail feathers and white feathers on the side of the tail? Isn't that a red ear?

From my understanding, St Helenas have faint black bars running across there breast. I've had black rumps... Catch the bird in and take the pics

According to the Finch Info Center..

Note: The Black-rumped (Red-eared) Waxbill (Estrilda troglodytes) is often confused with the Common Waxbill due to their similar appearances. Both species have red beaks, a similar overall body coloration, and the red eye stripe. They can be differentiated, however, since the Black-rumped (Red-eared) Waxbill lacks the distinct dark cross-barring on its feathers, has a black rump, an off-white undertail, and has white lining around its tail.

I can't tell anything from the pictures, too dark or too blurry. However, there are several main areas of difference:

Rump - Red-ear black, St. H brown
Undertail - Red-ear off-white, St. H black
Around tail - Red-ear white lining, St. H none
Barring - Red-ear none, St. H barring

Make sure you are looking at the correct area on the bird:

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

I caught up my new St. Helena I got at the mart and tried to get some close-ups to show what you should be looking for. Click on the pictures for a big view. I don't have a Red-ear to compare, but if you can do this with your new questionable one, maybe we can see if there is a difference.

Ignore the long toenails on this little guy, I haven't trimmed him yet!

The one I posted pics about is definitely a Red Ear Waxbill. The rump is black, the undertail is white, and there is white around the tail and no barring that I can see. I guess I have two different species. The other finch has barring, black undertail and brown rump. Sigh...Oh well. Now, I have to look for a mate for each bird! LOL.
Sally,
thanks for the post on body parts, as I was confusing the rump (back) for the bottom near the vent or Undertail. confusing terms for me, but I'll get it.
So, anyone have Red ear and St. Helena's for sale? I guess I'll look in the market place section. Thanks everyone.

finchmix22 wrote: thanks for the post on body parts, as I was confusing the rump (back) for the bottom near the vent or Undertail. confusing terms for me, but I'll get it.

I used to always look under the tail for the rump--made sense to me! Finally realized I was looking in the wrong place. That's where that section on anatomy in the FIC comes in handy.

Sally,
I caught the bird and had my son take pics while I held the bird. He/she was so scared and wiggly, that I could not get a whole body shot. You have a great camera that takes very good pictures or you are a much better photographer. Mine still have shadows, but you can see the coloring, I think. The bird seems to meet the description of a red ear?? Yes?
Deborah

My camera is a plain Nikon point & shoot--I had to take about 30 pictures to get those three! I hold the camera back a little and zoom in, that way my camera focuses a little better. Many of my photos without flash turn really orangey when my hand is in the picture, so sometimes I have to use the flash to get a better color, but then they often turn out washed-out.

I still can't tell for sure, but if it has a white undertail, I would say that it is a Red-eared waxbill.

That is my conclusion too. The finch has a white undertail and black rump so I am assuming since there is not barring on the feathers either, that the finch is a Red Ear. The other one looks like your St. Helena and so I guess I have one of each. Hmmmm......

I've attached a couple pictures of my Red-Eared Waxbills for reference here. The male is on the right, has a far rosier chest, a deeper red eye streak, and a bright red underside (vent area). The female is on the left, and has almost no rosy colour on her chest, a lighter eye streak, and a slightly lighter red patch on her vent. You'll notice on the edge of both their tails in the other picture, (or both pics) there are a couple of white feathers along the edge of the fully black tail. Note the strong colour different between my birds (Red Ears) and Sally's birds (St. Helenas). Its more of a creamy, vs darker brown and heavily barred. The undertail picture you posted, I would say is a Red Ear, just because of that rosey patch.

Oh and I forgot to say, click on those pictures, and then zoom in on them, and you'll see more clearly. Wish you luck!