Red-faced Star Finches nesting

[a_gouldian]

Our Red-faced Star Finches have been busy. The male has been building the nest, and this morning, he started doing the courting dance. Multiple times he grabbed a piece of dried grass in this beak and facing the female, he would hop and wave the piece of grass in front of her, sometimes while he was singing. She showed that she accepted his courtship by picking up a piece of grass while he had his and holding it up in front of him. She did this multiple times.

Then for the first time, she inspected the nest he had been building, entered it, and started making some adjustments inside the nest. He would bring nesting material up to the nest for her to use to get it the way she wanted it - the finishing touches.

She begins her inspection from the outside, then she goes inside, and in the last pic she is inside and he is outside waiting to see what she thinks. He then started bringing her more nesting material. (The pics are shown in reverse sequence order).

[lovezebs]

a_gouldian

What a sweet nest!
He has done a great job, and she should be very happy with it.

Bring on the egg food, mealworms, and crushed egg shells.....

[Sam007]

He has created a very beautiful nest!

[Sally]

He is an incredible nest-builder! You could also offer some feathers for them to use to line the nest.

[a_gouldian]

He is an incredible nest-builder! You could also offer some feathers for them to use to line the nest.

There is a pile of feathers at the bottom of the cage. He put a few in, and occasionally he picks up another feather flies around with it a bit, and drops it. Maybe they will use more feathers as the very last step.

They have a back entrance as well so we are not sure if they will close off the front entrance and make a ball shaped nest with a back entrance. He is working on it so I imagine we will know in a few more days.

[slwatson]

a_gouldian

Impressive nest!!!!

[MariusStegmann]

If your stars are like mine, you better keep far away from the nest. My pair are intensely private, and abandon chicks if disturb them on the nest.

[a_gouldian]

If your stars are like mine, you better keep far away from the nest. My pair are intensely private, and abandon chicks if disturb them on the nest.

They seem pretty calm around us and we can sit right next to their cage and they go about doing whatever. We have no way of looking in the nest since he made a round nest of coconut husk fibers and some Bermuda grass. If the hole stays big enough we could shine a flash light in from outside the cage when they are not in the nest.

I don't think they have started to lay eggs yet. They are still making some adjustments inside the nest.