Aggressive Jacarini's

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toothlessjaws
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I have a pair of Jacarini's that currently share space with a pair each of ruddies, cordons, melbas, saints and red-faced parrotfinches. I tend to forget the Jacarini's are even in there, so rarely do i see them. They interest me as there is lots in behaviour that reminds me that they are in fact tanagers and not finches at all, but nonetheless suddenly they have become hyper aggressive - the cock especially is really beating on the parrot finches and the only birds i see stand up to them are the melbas, who occasionally let the jacarini's know they have taken it too far.

I can see that they are becoming a major disruption to my other birds, the saints, ruddies and cordons i suspect have abandoned their nests as a result of the badgering. unfortunately the jacarini's have identified the whole aviary as their territory.

i can't seem to locate their nest, so secretive are they, but i'm considering removing them preferring to have clutches of the others over only a clutch of jac's.

not having much experience with jacarini's is there anyone more knowledgable who can offer me advice?
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toothlessjaws
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slight update:

RFPF's tossed their latest chicks out of stress today. ants got to them before i noticed them. pretty sure i located the Jacarinis nest. i could see movement in there.
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Craig52
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toothlessjaws wrote:slight update:

RFPF's tossed their latest chicks out of stress today. ants got to them before i noticed them. pretty sure i located the Jacarinis nest. i could see movement in there.
I don't think jacarini's are related to tanagers,they are members of the grassquit family. In my experience i had nothing but trouble with aggression from them as well as never being able to see them being aggressive. They hide from you when you approach the aviary so you get a sense of out of sight out of mind so they are not regarded as the aggressive bird that upsets the harmony in a mixed collection in a smaller aviary but they are.
In no way am i saying don't keep them as we don't want to lose this specie in Aus, but keep them in very large planted aviaries where they feel more secure and will on occasion reveal themselves in their splender because they are a beautiful bird,especially the cocks doing their display in full sunlight. Craig
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starman
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[quote]the cock especially is really beating on the parrot finches.[quote]

This may not be helpful but....
I once had plans of buying some Jacs from a very experienced breeder but on realising that I was a novice and had never kept them before he (as good as) talked me out of it.
He told me that the birds were shy, reclusive and potentially troublesome and in his very large aviaries were rarely seen. He mentioned that they were more aggressive towards their own kind than to other species and that he only ever kept one pair per aviary to keep things peaceful and in so doing had never seen them cause trouble. This may have been because of the size and heavy planting of the enclosure. He also mentioned that he was rarely asked for them and only kept them to promote the species but personally he liked them very much . Like Craig, he said a cock Jac in nuptial plumage was a real spectacle, but not often seen to advantage. Although we watched for a while, I only caught fleeting glimpses of them flying at breakneck speed through the foliage.
I went home with a pair of their cousins, Cubans.

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E Orix
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I have had Jacarinis for a long while and I can't remember seeing any aggression to other specie.
I have kept them in unplanted aviaries but these days in planted ones.
They can be seen all the time but I should stress there are quite a large number together.
In my opinion Cubans cause far more trouble than Jacarinis. Just recently I pulled a pair out of a very large aviary
because he was beating the cr.p out of my Yellow Napoleon Weavers. Fortunately I caught them up but I was definitely
thinking an air rifle may have to be used.
It was mentioned that the Jacarinis may be related to the Tanagers, this may be closer to fact even though books tell
us differently. I keep Red Crested Finches which are regarded as a member of the Tanagers. They tend to be aggressive to
other Red Crested hence I keep one pair to an aviary and keep a close watch on any young that have become independent.
When I released Jacarinis into a planted aviary which house a breeding pair of Red Crested they went totally murderous towards
the Jararinis. So much so all I had to do is wait for a short time until they were exhausted and trying to hide and catch and relocate
Back to the Jac's wouldn't be without them, love their summer display and call.
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starman
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[quote="E Orix"] In my opinion Cubans cause far more trouble than Jacarinis.

Agreed...that particular Cuban cock proved too pugnacious for my mixed collection... he would move any bird that dared to share his perch space (except his hen) or any bird that alighted on the wire within his field of view, often forcing them to the floor. This behaviour upset the whole family and the pair had to be on-sold owing to my having no other suitable housing for them. I was subsequently told that this is NOT typical of ALL Cuban cocks and have since kept them with no problems. They remain one of my favourite finches. (I currently have no Cubans).

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COUNTRY CAPITAL
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I keep jacarini's in a large planted aviary and they have set up territories that they call there own....
but not restricting other species...only other jacarini's.
the males have favourite display areas and defend them from other males.
diamonds, yellowrumps, gouldians etc pay them little attention and vice versa.
hope this helps.
p.s. a smaller unplanted enclosure would be VERY different however....common sense!
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