FINCHforum

I have a few questions here, that hopefully someone can help me with.
I have a 4 year old female green singer. She sings all the time through out the day. Its not little singing, its almost like a male. SHE is definatly a female though shes 4 and has the necklace.

Well a few weeks ago I got her a little male who is about 6mo - 1 yr old. I was told that females only sing when they are looking for a mate. We hes there in the cage with her. She doesnt sing as much but still about 4 or 5 times a day shes singing. Im sure shes pretty happy. But is this normal for a female to sing so much? Im gona try and record her one day as proof to show you guys her singing.

NOW the second question is about the male. I havent heard him sing at all yet. I heard little peeps and stuff but nothing like everyone has said that males do.
Today I heard him making sounds that almost sound like a hooo hooo hooo sound. Is this a normal GS sound? hes always busy building the nest or making these begging sounds to the female to get her to feed him or vice versa.
The breeder I got him from has several species of finches, so Im wondering if he has picked up a sound from another finch that he was with/near? Its almost as if hes an owl or something.

Will he ever sing like a male GS should?

I'll post this picture again of them Lucy the 4 yr old female is on the left, and the male is on the right



I hope theres someone that can answer these 2 questions I have

I agree with Rancel regarding the age of the male and not singing much yet. He is too young to sing very much, but will improve with age, like a good wine. The hen, if she is four years old, may not be willing to mate with such a younger mate. She is getting close to the end of her breeding years. If she is really singing, try to tape the song so we can hear what it sounds like. My female juvies sing some, but still not as developed as the males.

I've been asking the same question here about my GS male. I got my GS pair a couple months ago -
the breeder said they were young (the male is old enough have developed the male coloring however),
and I have them housed together in a flight cage. The two of of them are quite active - more active with
more sunlight. On sunny afternoons they are like a couple of ping pong balls.

The female chirps constantly and a couple times a day breaks into a very loud song - not melodious but
sustained and complicated, lasting for a few seconds. Loud enough to startle if in the room with them.
The male "singer" chirps less and has never sung. However, he often approaches
the female with his beak open and makes a sound I have described as a cart with a squeaky wheel,
to beg for food. It aggravates her and she chases him off, but he keeps doing it. Sheesh.
I've tried to inspire him with GS songs from youtube but to no effect.

I wouldn't trade my GSs for anything, but I am hoping my male sings someday. Maybe some
growing up is required. Will let you know if it happens.

Kathmcm, if I didn't know better I'd say we have the same birds.

My female doesn't shut up all day long and my male is practically mute but does make a faint sound which is a lot like a squeaky wheel on a cart. It's really quiet though, I have to be within a few feet of him to hear it.

The only difference for my birds is that it's the female who always begs for food with her mouth open and he usually does feed her which is adorable.

Another weird thing is that my female often does somersaults. I've never seen the male do that though.

Another weird thing is that my female often does somersaults. I've never seen the male do that though.

Yes! my female does this thing where she flies up to the top of the cage and hangs there upside down by her feet for a few seconds. Never seen my male do that either.

Kathleen

Rancel & Deborah - Thank you for the advice. You could be right maybe he is just still to young to sing fully just yet. WHy does he sound like an owl sometimes though? He makes that "hoooo, hooo, hooo" sound in the day. So strange.

Hes always busy building the nest, and begging for food from her, while making those peep peep peep sounds lol.

kathmcm wrote:I've been asking the same question here about my GS male. I got my GS pair a couple months ago -
the breeder said they were young (the male is old enough have developed the male coloring however),
and I have them housed together in a flight cage. The two of of them are quite active - more active with
more sunlight. On sunny afternoons they are like a couple of ping pong balls.

The female chirps constantly and a couple times a day breaks into a very loud song - not melodious but
sustained and complicated, lasting for a few seconds. Loud enough to startle if in the room with them.
The male "singer" chirps less and has never sung. However, he often approaches
the female with his beak open and makes a sound I have described as a cart with a squeaky wheel,
to beg for food. It aggravates her and she chases him off, but he keeps doing it. Sheesh.
I've tried to inspire him with GS songs from youtube but to no effect.

I wouldn't trade my GSs for anything, but I am hoping my male sings someday. Maybe some
growing up is required. Will let you know if it happens.

my female seems to sing its not something that lasts a few seconds, she will sit there and sing for at least 5- 10 mins depending on her mood lol! ;)
My male just chirps as well. As im typing this I see him just chirping....oh wait! now hes making that weird owl sound as his swings back and forth in the swing.... Ive also tried the youtube videos. My female will sing right away and the male just sits there and listens lol.

kathmcm wrote:

Another weird thing is that my female often does somersaults. I've never seen the male do that though.

Yes! my female does this thing where she flies up to the top of the cage and hangs there upside down by her feet for a few seconds. Never seen my male do that either.

Kathleen

Mine do as well! I see her hang upside down sometimes in order to get to a perch she wants. One time my male escaped the cage while I was changing their food, and he flew around the house and then hung upside down on the ceiling popcorn stuff!!

How old are your GS pair? My hens sing some while juveniles, then move on to the chirping from a low to high note and peeping in the nest or a perch to get her mate to feed her like a baby. I've never seen males act that way or make those sounds. My males sing for long periods of time in the morning and evening (dawn and dusk). The females just call/chirp, but not real singing. Can you video the two doing their thing?

Put the male in a separate cage and you will hear singing galore!
Trust me on this!
The male doesn't have to work to get a female, he has one already!
My two are in a flight together and he isn't singing much now!
Males sing to attract mates, all birds do it, canaries, finches, geese, swans, whatever!
Since its to early to breed, he doesn't need to sing, because he has a girl!

Deborah- im going to try and record a video clip tomorrow morning if all goes well.

Thanks Jerry I may try that! And good point!...no need to sing if the hen is already with him ;)

Your male is young and likely vocally not matured. I find that females select their partners by the voice and he hasn't impressed her yet. GS mature later than other species and 4 years old is not old. My GS female that I've had for over 7 years was laying eggs like a chicken last season. This season, I just don't need more chicks from her. I'm already getting two chick from her 5 years old daughter.
GS males, female and juveniles all sing, but differently. You can check my website for examples of their songs.

ikhom, your website is fantastic. I watched the video of the GS birth - seeing the female as she ever so gently helped the hatchling out of its shell was mesmerizing.

In your photos your GSs look much stockier than mine, maybe another sign mine have some growing up to do before I expect them to act like adults. Hopefully 2 young birds that grow up around each can eventually become a bonded pair!

ikhom- thank you for the link to your website
I have actually seen some of your youtube videos. I love watching them.

I just listened to the recordings of the male and female GS singing.
MY female sounds just like the female sound, but goes into more of a sound with different pitches. I guess it must be normal. Its funny as soon as I played those voice clips she started
My little male is just sitting there listening.
Interesting you said your hen was laying when she was 7. Some people have told me that my female since she is 4 yrs old is done laying. She doesnt want to mate anymore. And wont live past 5 yrs old. And then I read they can lay eggs past 4, and live up to 10 yrs old... I dont know what to believe anymore lol. Everyone seems to have different stories. I wold love for Lucy to be a mom at least once in her life. She has never been with any green singers ever. The previous owner that had her, had a cordon bleu as a cage mate and he died.

kathmcm wrote:ikhom, your website is fantastic. I watched the video of the GS birth - seeing the female as she ever so gently helped the hatchling out of its shell was mesmerizing.

In your photos your GSs look much stockier than mine, maybe another sign mine have some growing up to do before I expect them to act like adults. Hopefully 2 young birds that grow up around each can eventually become a bonded pair!

My male is very slim and tiny in comparison to my female GS. Shes a little larger and more stockier. So the lil guy has some growing to do still, and Im sure he will also get his song.