FINCHforum

Spotted this pair yesterday in PR, ( South west of the island)
They look like what is called spice finch on the guide here, but
my book on PR birds by Oberle called them nutmeg Mannikin, ( Lonchura punctulata ) or in Spanish, " Pinzon Acanelado" while also called the scaly breasted Mannikin, ...
Native to Asia, introduced here I guess...












I saw them Eating the same grss seeds that my house birds love so much.

Yep those would be Spices.

Beautiful birds. I hope to bring home a couple this weekend.

The place I got mine called them "Indian Spice Finches." I know they are asian, but are they really concentrated in India? They are lots of fun - they tried to rule the roost for the first few days, but now they've given up and joined the societies, so I often see all 6 of them (two spices and four societies) cuddled up on a perch.

At my bird store, they were even cheaper than the societies - spice finches were 12.99, and societies were 14.99.

Wish I could get them for that price here. Societies sell for $17.99 and Spices for $24.00.

Better keep an eye on 'em Steve or you could end up with some Spiceities. ;)

I'm not too worried about that. No breeding allowed in the big cage - there are too many birds in there to allow it.

The various subspecies of spice finch are found in: Ceylon, India, Indochina (including Vietnam and Cambodia), Thailand, southern China, Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Celebes, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and the Philippines.

Wild-caught Spice are found frequently along with other munia species in the Indian Bird Market.Also you can find red and green avadavats.All these birds are agricultural pests,apparently.

Great pics, are they common/abundant in there?


Societies and spice finches are priced the same here $19 each