Goldfinches

Includes Species Profile
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GregH
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Joined: 17 Feb 2009, 08:20
Location: Brisbane
Location: Chapel Hill, Brisbane Qld

If you look at Nick's address and the birds he breeds you'll see why he doesn't want Australian goldfinches. Trapping not an actual conservation or welfare issue in Australia since our goldfinches are feral but they are an ad-hoc mixture of European races and if he is a serious breeder it's difficult to compete with these mongrelized imported $10 birds. That said, if he is marketing to other serious breeders of European gold finches then his birds are not likely to be purchased by the people that want a pretty bird in a cage or pate (the pot is unfortunately where most illegally trapped small birds go aroung the Mediterranean).
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jusdeb
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Joined: 12 Mar 2009, 19:43
Location: Dubbo, NSW
Location: Western Plains NSW

Not my favourite finch and would like to see them removed from Australia ( humanely of course ) ( ferals of course ) as there are enough feral critters here already .
Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue.
David Brent
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E Orix
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Joined: 29 May 2009, 23:30
Location: Howlong on NSW/Vic Border 30km from Albury
Location: Howlong NSW

GregH
How do you reach the opinion that our Goldfinches are an Ad-hoc group.
I was of the opinion that they were released on purpose by the Acclimitation Society? early in our countries infancy.
From memory there were 2 shipments containing GoldFinches from the UK and a law was decreed to protect them.
I think you will find their blood lines pretty pure,maybe starting to evolve with slight differences.
The same applies to the European finches now inhabiting New Zealand
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GregH
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Joined: 17 Feb 2009, 08:20
Location: Brisbane
Location: Chapel Hill, Brisbane Qld

E.orix I've never gone into it to find primary references or done the research myself but it's reported that the Aussie goldfinch is not a pure race but a combination of 2 or more sub-species according to the BirdCare site(http://www.birdcare.com.au/goldfinch.htm). A European goldfinch enthusiast group on Flickr also report this (http://www.flickr.com/groups/chardonneret/). I didn't know the Australian goldfinch population was established from only 2 shipments but it seems some think these came from different geographic sources resulting in a the hybrid we see today as the Australian goldfinch.

I guess I’m just reporting what I see in the literature and there are some very plausible "heresies" - the origin of avicultural lines of blue faced parrot finch and king quail aren't even Australian, the yellow-rumped munia is a variant of the chestnut-breasted munia, "pure" domestic star finches includes genes from the extinct southern star and the Australian classification of Pytilia species is at best unique. Perhaps we need a separate "Myth Buster"section to look as these type of issues.
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BENSONSAN
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Joined: 14 Aug 2009, 00:03
Location: Sydney N.S.W
Location: Sydney, Australia

Wow sounds like trout. There a feral fish yet there protected under aussie law. Even have a closed season on them. Any way i for one would like to trap myself a pair of red bull bulls lol i see erm every day at my work here in sydney hehe. But do not want to go to jail hehe.

Is it legal to trap feral birds or do you need a license?
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E Orix
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Joined: 29 May 2009, 23:30
Location: Howlong on NSW/Vic Border 30km from Albury
Location: Howlong NSW

Trapping feral animals/birds is not illegal unless the species is under Govt. regs
But there could be problems under the animal cruelty act.
I doubt if you trapped Bul Buls you would be prosecuted unless they were harmed.
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iaos
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Joined: 18 Aug 2009, 20:07
Location: Newcastle, NSW
Location: Newcastle, NSW

BulBuls/Gold finches = cheap as chips --------------> avairy bred much harder to get on the perch... especially the bulbuls, req'ing losts of live food.
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Netsurfer
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Joined: 30 Jun 2010, 10:30
Location: Sydney, NSW

I have 10 young aviary bred, partly colored, closed banded Goldfinches, $30 each or the lot for $200. Will ship if you buy 4 birds or more, shipping is approximately $55, to most parts of Australia. I am in Sydney, ask for John (02) 9628 5816.
P.S. Will swap for a hen White-winged Wren.
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Netsurfer
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Joined: 30 Jun 2010, 10:30
Location: Sydney, NSW

GregH wrote:If you look at Nick's address and the birds he breeds you'll see why he doesn't want Australian goldfinches. Trapping not an actual conservation or welfare issue in Australia since our goldfinches are feral but they are an ad-hoc mixture of European races and if he is a serious breeder it's difficult to compete with these mongrelized imported $10 birds. That said, if he is marketing to other serious breeders of European gold finches then his birds are not likely to be purchased by the people that want a pretty bird in a cage or pate (the pot is unfortunately where most illegally trapped small birds go aroung the Mediterranean).
I think you're wrong GregH, so is BirdCare and Flickr, Goldfinches in Australian are probably purer than the species found today in Britain, they could not possibly be mistaken for no other subspecie but the Carduelis c. britannica, they are mostly brown birds with grey-white cheeks, belly and abdomen pretty much dull comparing to the Carduelis c. carduelis from central and eastern Europe. Carduelis c. carduelis are much prettier birds, the contrast between the black and white is stunning, white is pure white and black is much shinier black, their white cheeks often have light yellowish or green smudge and not grey as in the C.c.britannica. On the back of the neck of C.c.carduelis there is a big pure white crescent whereas on the C.c.britannica there is no or very little white which is grey in reality. C.c.caruelis is a larger bird. The specie further south, from Spain and Portugal are a little smaller and much prettier than the C.c.britannica, the black is shinier and white is pure white and not greyish white. I have seen only once another subspecie in Australia a bird dealer had about 15 pars from somewhere but neither the Sydney Museum nor the Zoo could identify the subspecie, when you look at the two subspecies next to each other you could clearly see the difference. Siberian Goldfinches are giant comparing to the C.c.brittanica and with lot more white all over, than the C.c.caduelis. As far as I know no other subspecies have ever been imported for release, if they have been imported they certainly have not been released in any significant number. Whereas in Britain, because of the global warming C.c.carduelis have been reported many times throughout the British Isles.
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