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Nrg800
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Posts: 597
Joined: 16 Dec 2010, 21:29
Location: Sydney

Blue-faced Parrot-Finch - Erythrura trichroa

Physical Description
These are rather large finches being 11-12cm long. It is a heavily built bird with a bright blue face
mask. The body is a rich green and the rump is red. Although this bird may look slightly drab in
photos and in the shade, when this bird is preening in direct sunlight its colours really shine.

Other Names
The Blue-faced Parrot-Finch is known by a few other names, though, other than the movement
of spaces and hyphens, none of them are commonly used, and none of the names are used in
Aviculture. The main other name is the Three-coloured Parrot-Finch or Blue-headed Parrot-Finch.

Availability
This bird is common and secure in Australian Aviculture with over 3% of native finches being kept in
Australia being Blue-faced Parrot Finches. These birds are easily obtained from many pet shops or
bird dealers (though you must remember to only buy good, healthy birds from bird dealers), in fact, I
got my birds from a pet shop near Wentworthville. 33 Birds are recorded in the Aussie Finch Forum Census. ( https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... E&hl=en_US" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

Sexing
These birds can be difficult to sex, with the two sexes looking similar. To sex them you need to see
both birds in the hand, comparing the crown. The blue mask extends much further back on male
birds, the mask is also a darker blue in male birds. The green of the body is also darker on males,
and the rump is a brighter. However, there are several races of this species, and all have a varying
amount of blue on their face, so this method cannot be reliably used. The only certain way of sexing
these birds is with genetic testing.

Mutations
There are a few mutations available for this species: Lutino, Pied and Sea-green. The Lutino mutation
replaces the green of the body with a creamy yellow, the blue of the face is replaced with white and
the rump is pink. The Lutino mutation is a sex-linked mutation, meaning that female birds can never
be split for lutino. Crossing a male lutino with a normal female will result in a split male and lutino
female. Normal Male x Lutino Female = Split Male, normal female. However, when crossing split
males with lutino females, the female will have a 50/50 chance of being lutino and normal, and the
males will have a 50/50 chance of being Normal or split. Crossing a split with a normal will get you
the same. Two normal birds will get you normal offspring, and two lutino birds will give you lutino
offspring. However, this is not recommended, as lutino/lutino birds are very weak and often don’t
survive.

Natural Distribution
Blue-faced Parrot-finches are naturally found in the islands north of Australia, with only a small and
rare population in Australia. They are found throughout the Moluccas, Celebes, New Guinea and the
Bismarck Archipelago. In Australia they are only found around Cairns, and a rare there too.

Natural Habitat
These birds are naturally found in a variety of habitats throughout their range. They can be found
from lowland grassland, to mountaintop rainforest. However they mostly use low vegetation in lush
grassy clearings or rainforest margins. As well as occasionally using open grassland within Eucalypt
forest. They usually are found in small parties, feeding in rainforest trees, foraging for seeds in the
lower or middle layer.

Housing
These birds are often likened to the clowns of the bird world, and my pair can regularly be seen
flying to and from one side of the aviary, and hanging upside-down in the bushes. For this reason
these birds live better in large, planted aviaries, with dense shrubs and tall grass ideal. Although they
are often found in large flocks in the wild, these birds breed better with one pair of parrotfinches in
each aviary. However, they can be bred in cages, and indoors in cages at least, 90x40x40cm. Only
house one species of Parrotfinch in any aviary as these birds are known to hybridise. Obesity is an
issue with birds housed in cages.

Breeding
This species is probably the easiest Parrot-finch to breed in captivity, though best results are
achieved in a mixed collection with one pair of birds. Although females are capable of breeding at 9
months, it is best waiting until the bird is at least a year old before allowing the birds to breed.
Young can be left with their parents after independence. The birds don’t build a roosting nest. They
can breed year round, but in colder areas they won’t breed in winter. They are happy to nest in a
variety of nest-boxes, yet they prefer to build their own nest, high in the aviary (often pushed up
against the roof ) and they are often made of a variety of things, from paper to gumnuts, it is a very
well-constructed structure. The inside of their nest is lined with soft grass, but the combination of
the height and tight nature can result in the over-heating of the nest, which can occasionally result
in the deaths of the chicks.

Mating Ritual
The birds start their courtship ritual with the male turning his head from side to side and bobbing
up and down with grass in his beak, whilst whistling a trilling noise. Following this there is quite a
terrifying chase, where the male chases the female around the aviary before she tires, after which
he grabs the female by the ruff of her neck before copulating. This can be quite terrifying to watch,
but there seem to be no hard feelings between the two. It’s just what happens.

Eggs
Between 4 to 6 white eggs are laid and hatch about 2 weeks later. The two share the incubation
throughout the day, and the female sits at night. 21 days after hatching these birds fledge. They stay
on the ground for the first few days and they often hide in grass. They can die if the birds choose to
sleep in the rain, and during the first few days of fledging they are very susceptible to cold and fugal
diseases.

Diet
Blue-faced Parrot-finches eat a similar diet to other waxbills. A good quality seed mix with occasional
green food and sprouting seeds. They do like live food, but it is not necessary for breeding.

Health Related Problems

These birds are no more susceptible to diseases than any other bird. However, occasionally males
need to be separated from female if they become too boisterous. Particularly rowdy males have
been known to kill females if allowed to live with the female year round, though this is pretty rare.
They also spend a lot of time on the ground and should therefore be wormed and provided with
Boycox on occasion. According to one source these birds react poorly to Levamisole based worming
products.


Approximate Cost per pair:
South Australia
Normal $60
Lutino $120 each

Victoria
Normal $60

Queensland
Normal $65

New South Wales
Normal $55
Lutino $160

Western Australia
Normal $70
Lutino Hen $125

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KnCiFVH-EM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - A Video showing these birds and their 'chasing' courtship ritual.
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Hoopoe
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Posts: 22
Joined: 21 Nov 2011, 20:22
Location: Southern Tablelands, NSW

Fantastic profile, thank you. These are one of my favourite birds to watch in our aviary!! :clap:
Nathan Morleyy

Mate they cost alot more than $55 a pair.

Regards
Misso
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Posts: 1085
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 18:20
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Location: Melbourne. VICTORIA

Nathan Morleyy wrote:Mate they cost alot more than $55 a pair.

Regards
he did write Approx Nathan....
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SamDavis
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Posts: 2578
Joined: 03 Jan 2011, 14:01
Location: Douglas Park NSW

Well done Nathan!

Just two errors you might like to correct under Mutations.
Nrg800 wrote:... However, when crossing split males with lutino females, the female will have a 50/50 chance of being lutino and normal, and the males will have a 50/50 chance of being Normal or split. Crossing a split with a normal will get you the same...
A split male to lutino hen - the males have a 50/50 change of being Lutino or split
Crossing a split with a normal hen - hens 50% lutino/50% normal, cocks 50% splits/50% normal.

Great job.
Sam
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