What kind of bird was he talking about?

[Domenic]

I get my finches from a bird broker (he is mainly a hookbill guy, but he gets some cool finches in from time to time) and he told me this week that he was going to buy a pair of finches that were about the same price as gouldians. He said they were very pretty and had a purple breast (and head?) and a black back, but he definitely said they were purple and black. I can't for the life of me figure out what kind of finch he is talking about. The only one I could think of, a purple grenadier, is not the price of a gouldian, or half black. Could he have meant Lavenders? Maybe some kind of tanager? He said he will probably buy them this week so hopefully I'll get to see what the heck he is talking about. Sounds interesting.

[dpedersen]

A purple honeycreeper is all I can think of- that isn't a finch though. Hopefully someone else has an idea.

[lovemyfinch]

Could he be talking about a paradise Whydah

[JohnBoy]

Could he be talking about a paradise Whydah

Paradise whydahs don't have purple on them, mostly black and rust.

The opal rumped tanager has lots of purple and black.

[CandoAviary]

Maybe a combassou or a Jacorini. These are both black birds but can have irredescent colors.... much like a starling or back crow, They reflect purples and blues.

I have an idea, by one and post a picture

[JohnBoy]

Maybe a combassou or a Jacorini. These are both black birds but can have irredescent colors.... much like a starling or back crow, They reflect purples and blues.

I have an idea, by one and post a picture

Candace could be right on with this one.

[Domenic]

Candace I think you could be right about the Combassou. I was looking through the list of finch species and I thought that maybe he meant black with a purple sheen to it. He did say "purple from the waste up so to speak" so that's what really threw me off. All the suggestions above were pretty good, the only thing that doesn't match is the price of a gouldian thing he said.

The only thing I can do is buy them and post pics for all of you. If I have to. .............

[JohnBoy]

Dom for some strange reason some people list tanagers as "finches,other". I see this a lot on price lists. The combassou and jacarini should only sell for about $80 a pair at the most. So the price also throws me off. The opal rumped tanager is often on price lists that is why I was thinking maybe that is it.

http://www.northrup.org/photos/tanager/ ... 281%29.htm

[Domenic]

That looks exactly like what I imagined, but a tanager for the price of a gouldian? Doubt it. I'm starting to think his description was a bit off. Maybe it was a sheen of blue rather than purple or something. Or it could be so cheap because it was misidentified as a different type of bird. Who knows?

[L in Ontario]

Oooh that tanager sure is pretty!

[JohnBoy]

Opal-rumped tanagers sell for around $600 a pair.

[L in Ontario]

Yeahhhh they're not THAT pretty!

[JohnBoy]

Yeahhhh they're not THAT pretty!

I bet you'd think so if $600 were pocket change.

[B CAMP]

Boy i would like to have that kind of pocket change

[L in Ontario]

Yeahhhh they're not THAT pretty!

I bet you'd think so if $600 were pocket change.

You win the bet!