White Headed Munia - boy or girl?

John · Post by **John** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:32 am

Can anyone here decifer the difference in sex in my White Headed Munias?

http://s192.photobucket.com/albums/z265 ... fguygu.jpg

http://s192.photobucket.com/albums/z265 ... nt=rgr.jpg

http://s192.photobucket.com/albums/z265 ... htrbne.jpg

If you need me to take a pic of a specific part of the bird, i can do so.

Ive been told that you can tell by under the beak. The male is more oval curve and the hen is more sharp, than curved.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:29 am

hi john
going by the appearance of the 2 together the one on the right seems to me to be the male of the species!all though i am not certain but the beaks are very much like java sparrows and thats the way i sex mine the one with the largest beak is usually the male when the species are exactly alike

ken

tursiopschic · Post by **tursiopschic** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:16 pm

I'm not sure...as Kenny said, the one on the right has a bit larger beak so it's probably a male. The one on the left still could be a boy.

I would watch and listen for songs and male behavior. With my munias if one of the males sings, the other one will hop right next close to him, lean in, and cock his head as if to listen to the other sing. Then after the song is done they beak fence a bit.

John · Post by **John** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:10 pm

Thanks for your replies.....

Kenny, I agree, the one on the right does look like he has a bigger beak. He is alos the one with the more rounded underside of the beak which also tells me he's a male.

Tursiopchic, I dont hear any songs at all....just constant chirping. They are very strange finches....lol. They dont like perches very much and love flying to the side of the cage and hanging of it. The jump to the same three spots....all day.

How do these guys go with breeding? Ive heard that they should be paired as juveniles or they might not bond as a mating pair as adults? Do you think they will breed as a single pair in a cage?

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:25 pm

The one on the right also looks to have brighter color overall, which would indicate male.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:06 am

hi john
they are munias so breed the same as society finches...there is a potential problem with these birds though as you say they tend to hang on the side of the cage and thier claws grow at an alarming speed and end up sickle shaped ,if i where you i would try to trim them a little as one day you may go in and find one deceased due to being fast on the cage wire

ken

John · Post by **John** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:33 pm

Yes, I clipped their nails the first day i got them. Boy can those birds bite....lol

Does anyone else know how well they breed in cages or have had any experience breeding them in cages?

tursiopschic · Post by **tursiopschic** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:54 pm

I haven't had experience breeding them, but know a person who has w/o them being bonded in juvenile feathers.

My white-headed nun likes to hang off the side of the cage too...it is very strange. I think he is the flightiest of my birds and definitely has some level of OCD

and flies to the same spots too.

Let us know how it goes!

Post by **Hilary** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:25 am

That's funny - my two are so calm it's eerie!

John · Post by **John** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:12 am

Tursi mine are exactly the same.....lol....they are just going mental....they look happy as though just bouncing up and down even if its on the same spot....ive never seen such hyperactivity and constant chirping in a bird.

It goes to show how different the personalities are of all the breeds.

Hilary...i reckon you got lucky....lol.

Im looking for a male as i think i may have two females. We will see if i can find one cause they are very hard to get in Brisbane. Anyone around Brissy got one they want to sell or swap?

John · Post by **John** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:13 am

Tursi mine are exactly the same.....lol....they are just going mental....they look happy as though just bouncing up and down even if its on the same spot....ive never seen such hyperactivity and constant chirping in a bird.

It goes to show how different the personalities are of all the breeds.

Hilary...i reckon you got lucky....lol.

Im looking for a male as i think i may have two females. We will see if i can find one cause they are very hard to get in Brisbane. Anyone around Brissy got one they want to sell or swap?

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:37 am

if they are flying to the same spots all the time try changing your perches round to see if they alter thier flight path

ken

John · Post by **John** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:53 am

Kenny, I tried doing that and just get into a new rythem with the new perch layout. They look compleletey happy with what they are doing.

Its just an odd thing to see.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:12 am

hi john
the bouncing up and down has struck a chord with me ,most munias are related to each other and a lot of the males do this hopping kind of thing when they are trying to impress a female you dont think that you could have a male!and not know as a lot of thier singing voices are barely audible my hecks is definately a male but it is very hard to hear is mating song as he hops around the females

ken