FINCHforum

I am considering going to the Cincinnati Ohio Bird Fair on the 11th. One of the vendors will be JR's Feathered Friends. He has a HUGE list of finches available and said if I want something specific to let him know and they will bring it and hold it for me. I saw 3 birds listed that piqued my interest, but I know nothing about them. Are they sensitive and hard to keep? Do they require a larger variety of food then the birds I currently own? Will they mix well with my birds (are they passive or pushy or aggressive?)
If anyone has any knowledge on any of these birds, please share!
Here they are-

Magpie Mannikin
Bronze Wing Mannikin
European Goldfinch

I have all three. The Magpie mannikin is a large bird but gets along well with the tiny Bronze winged mannikin. They have been known to cross breed. The goldfinch is a lovely bird and should also get along well with the other 2. The Bronze-winged can be very aggressive at breeding time but I see no problem with you mixing that selection.

If it's important to you - I would find out whether they are captive bred or wild caught and whether or not they are closed banded; this would be able to give you some idea of their age.

I am thinking of these birds being kept with some of my passive species such as my African Silverbills. The European Goldfinch is lovely, But I think it's agressive towards other species, especially if breeding, so I may not go with this bird. Same for the Bronze Wing Mannikin. The only one I cannot find info on now is the Magpie Mannikin. Are these considered pushy or agressive. I don't want my other passive birds getting harassed...

My European Goldfinch is certainly a little more pushy than the waxbills, but they get along fine. However, the goldfinch needs lots of flying space. He's literally dive bombing through the aviary at times. So if you don't have a very big aviary I wouldn't recommend him.

My Magpie mannikins are not at all aggressive. But I do not have them with waxbills. At one time I did have them with pearl head silverbills with no problem or aggression at all. However I have read that they can be quite aggressive at breeding time.