FINCHforum

It's been a long wait, but so much better late than never!

Adorable!

Beautiful & worth the wait.
Mary

w.l. - Oh my goodness, these guys are cute, almost like small java sparrows. Congratulations! How many fledglings do you have? How long did you have them before they built a nest, laid eggs and raised their babies? What kind of food did they require (egg food, sprouted seeds, etc.)?
How are your black-crowned waxbills doing? Any babies yet? Mine don't seem to be interested in nests, nesting material or starting a family. I wonder if things will change midsummer or in the fall.
Iso

Congratulations

isobea

I've had that pair for over 2 years now. However, till last autumn they were kept in a 75*45*90cm cage where they never even looked at their nestbox.
Then last autumn I moved them to an aviary on their own, where they just started peeking at a box from outside, and the male courted the hen but to no avail.
Then in December I got 3 new wild-caught pairs, and upon advice that they breed best in colony, put them in with the old pair. Immediately the old hen became like a jelous wife, folliwing the male at 10cm at all times. They were also quite hostile to the newcomers, chasing them around. Eventually the old pair started nesting.
The hen did almost all the brooding, and with her out of the picture the male got calmer too. Then a 2nd pair formed and started checking a box. When the chicks fledged and the old hen emerged from the nest alone (they took turns with the male) she met much aggression by others outside.
She could barely go to eat!
Eventually I removed the surplus 3 pairs and sold one of them, with the remaining 2 going to the aviary adjescent to the one with the nesting pair.
These then could raise their chicks in peace.
I provided dry seed, sprouted seed, germinated mungbeans, water spinach, buffalo worms, ant puppae and commercial (dry) eggfood daily, but they seemed to take most of the mungbeans and worms.
The chicks fledged aged between 4-5 weeks, very long for estrildid finches! I only checked the nest once as it is hard to reach and causes much disturbance. They have 3 chicks but one kind of got left behind in growth and I am not yet sure it will survive.
Meanwhile the 2 pairs in the neighboring aviary live quite peacefully, but nesting activity by the already formed pair has just resumed recently. They collect nest material and I saw them mate yesterday.

No news with the waxbills.
They are in a now too busy communal birdroom where they are the smallest and quietest species and I don't even expect them to nest in those conditions.
So far nothing had nested successfully in that setting though several species built nests and laid a few eggs.
I really think peaceful, single-species aviaries ate thecway to go if one is serious about breeding.

w.l. - Thank you so much for your detailed answer. Sorry about the delay in responding, life has been a little hectic around here. I will have to investigate if the Timor sparrows are available here. I like that fact that they are smaller than the Java sparrows (which are illegal in California anyway).
Good luck with your bl.-cr. waxbills. I've given up on them for now. Maybe their breeding season is in the fall/winter (like my strawberry finches). My strawberries raised their kids early and are now all relaxed and starting their molt. Too bad that my male is now loosing even the last of his red feathers.
Take care, Iso

Good luck, but others seem to think this is yet another species "lost" from the USA.
You'd have more luck in Europe where some breed them.

They are lovely birds. Very pretty. Congrats on the fledglings.

Wow!
Are they ever gorgeous!
I can't say I've ever seen them in real life - at least not that I recall.
I bet they're even more lovely in person!

Congrats!!!

Thanks for sharing. I'm not familiar with this species so this was an eye opener! Please post more photos and info!!!

You know, they sort of look like penguins!

I'd love to get some java sparrows and timor sparrows. Tiny penguins and tiny puffins!

They are adorable!! They really do look like miniature Javas.

I don't know why everyone thinks Timor Sparrows are "tiny" or "miniature"!
They are almost as big as Java Sparrows, so actually quite big for estrildid finches.
Otherwise, I am glad so many members like them.
Obviously so do I, which is why I kept trying for years...

Thanks for the appreciation.

As an additional nugget of info, the 3rd chick also seems to be catching up with the other two now. Once it could fly properly, it could pester the male to be fed, just like the other two.
The female already seems to be brooding again, which is probably not great as she no longer feeds the fledgelings, but they probably still disturb her on the nest.
I guess the chicks are ready to bevseparated soon, but as I had to leave home for work for 3 weeks, that will have to wait.

Who knows what I find when I return home... As long as nothing dies, I am happy.
Leaving birds in the care of others, especially when nesting, is something I really hate to do.

As for more pics, being away from home, I could only dig up this one, showing some of the newly purchased birds in December, still in quaratine.