FINCHforum

Hello!

I've always had a thing for tiny birds, what are some smaller finch species?

Chimelette wrote: Hello!

I've always had a thing for tiny birds, what are some smaller finch species?

What kind of finches are you looking for? I've only ever had Zebs and a goldfinch

Oh! Any kind really, just wanted to know which finches are the smallest As you've seen in my previous post, I only have a zebra and society for the time being!

Goldbreast waxbills are the smallest commonly available species, to the point they will escape most bird cages that suit other finches. other waxbills like the orange-cheek waxbill are close contenders, though.

Chimelette wrote: Oh! Any kind really, just wanted to know which finches are the smallest As you've seen in my previous post, I only have a zebra and society for the time being!

Yeah I guess it depends if you want to get finches smaller than Zebs? Arent fire finches quite small? You could try getting some of them if they are small!

I guess it does depend on availability in your area etc as to what finches you will be able to get.

I’ve never had waxbills but I know that owl finches are small

The Cuban finches are also very small.
They can sometimes be a bit pushy and often don't get on very well with other species.

Definitely the gold breasted waxbills. They are pretty and adorable and even though very small, quite hardy. If you are considering breeding them eventually, remember they need a lot of live food (mini mealworms, termites and such) to raise their babies. I loved mine.
Where do you live? Would it be difficult to get live food?
Iso

Fraza wrote: I’ve never had waxbills but I know that owl finches are small

Agreed. I saw some owl finches at a breeder’s the other weekend and I’d say they were a hair smaller than societies.

GBD yep they are defiantly snallest ive seen

Owl finches: 4 inches, gold breasts about 3 1/2 inches.
They are so small, they often can escape through the wire spacing of regular bird cages. I've kept both species before and just fledged gold breasts are so tiny they fit through my 1x1 cm (not inch!) wire. I had to rush out to Home Depot, get a roll of mosquito screen and secure that to the outside of my aviary until they grew some more.

isobea wrote: Owl finches: 4 inches, gold breasts about 3 1/2 inches.
They are so small, they often can escape through the wire spacing of regular bird cages. I've kept both species before and just fledged gold breasts are so tiny they fit through my 1x1 cm (not inch!) wire. I had to rush out to Home Depot, get a roll of mosquito screen and secure that to the outside of my aviary until they grew some more.

Whoa thats so tiny and adorable. I love it!

African firefinches are the smallest ones I currently own. Cordon Bleu's are similar in size, and the gold breasts look slightly smaller still.

I couldn't imagine trying to catch one that escaped.

Chimelette As others have said, the Goldbreasted Waxbill is the smallest of the more common captive finches. The Red-billed Fire finch is only slightly larger, at 3.5-4", and is another absolutely delightful species. They are quite active, but they do fine in a cage situation as long as they have some flying space. I would say 30x18x18 would be a minimum size for them, with longer/larger being even better, and this applies to pretty much all the waxbills. They will do OK in that minimum cage size, but they do much better in larger flight cages, and all waxbills excell when kept in an aviary.

Red-billed Fire finches are not aggressive, so they can share living space. They aren't quite as easy to breed as the Goldbreasted, but then none of the waxbills are what I would consider easy breeders.

For anyone wanting to start with waxbills, I would recommend the Goldbreasted first, with the Red-billed Fire finch a close second.

Chimelette

I love tiny birds too. Wouldn't it be amazing to have one of these?