Aussie Finch Forum

Jayburd
The owner of the collection in Sydney that held all those Silverbills(presume we are talking about the same one) has let a number out to other breeders
plus the odd ones picked up.In a short time a number have good results with young out and independant.So we live in hope.
As for hybridising,you are courting disaster putting any two species of Munia together in the same aviary.

I know that, which is why I'm not... but ill they hybridise with things outside of the Munia family?

AMCA26 wrote:A fiesty circle. Greens Singers recently have been the same down on price and now suddenly hitting $200 pair.

Completely agree, same with the Yellow Siskins.

Who can get there Hands on them....i see 20 red siskins for every yellow.

Jay, acording to Russell Kingston. Plum Heads, Pin Tailed Parrotfinch, Red Avadavat, Common Waxbill, Orange breasted, Black rumped waxbill, Red browed, as well as almost any other Lonchura species. Sounds like they are a little outgoing with their favours.
LML

agreed finchbreeder... lets see, pintails and black rumps, I don't think so, orange breasts... sounds weird! I guess they look a bit like hens... ok, red avadavies nope, plummies and redbrows no... saints no... nup, I should be OK

I see yellow siskins frequently at sale... 3pr at September sale. I think a guy on the South coast breeds them.
but yes reds are far more common in general, don't see many here though.

Sorry Jay, I think you missed a trick there - Common Waxbill = St Helena.
I wouldn't worry overmuch about species outside of the Loncura complex. Most other hybrids above are probably based on only a small number of records.

that's what I said - saints.

Sorry mate, guess I mis-read your post. Thought you were saying you should be ok with saints...

I misread posts a lot

Excluding close related species natural hybridising is not that common when you consider the amount of birds kept.
When there is an accident generally it is because of an out of balance in numbers, too many cockbirds in one specie and and too many females in another and you have an out of balance situation. Keep close even numbers and becareful with like species.
In all the years I have had big number of birds I can not recall breeding a hybrid. I once had a female Red Head pair with a Saint Helena all the eggs were infertile except one and that fledge into a young Pintailed Whydah so it wasn't even their egg.