Aussie Finch Forum

I have a pair of Red Crested Finches feeding chicks at the moment and where they have built allows me great viewing access.
The nest is located up high in dry brush and some 10m from the feed station.
For every visit the cockbird makes to the nest the female would make inexcess of 10
At that particular feed station there is no dry seed mix but a large quantity of soaked seed plus the fly maggot tray and the mealworm tray.
I am not sure how old the chicks are and the number possibly two.
In an 18 min. period this morning the female took 40 seconds to get the amount of Mealworms she required, fly to the nest,feed the chick/s and fly back.
This was repeated 6 times,the seventh trip back took approx.2 min.because she didn't get Mealworms but fed on soaked seed then to the nest then back onto
the Mealworms to repeat the process.After 3 complete cycles she stopped and sat near the nest and preened her feathers.During the whole process the cockbird visited once.
This raises the point can birds count because it was exactly the 7th visit with soaked seed.
The other point is the flies,dry seed and water were totally ignored.Last evening there was no set pattern but the difference was that I feed out some more larger mature Mealworms which I guess she had to prepare more to feed her chicks.This mornings Mealworms were rather smaller.
I am anxious for this nest to be a success as the chicks will be a great out cross for the future.

E Orix wrote:I am anxious for this nest to be a success as the chicks will be a great out cross for the future.

Sounds like the hen is doing everything in her power to help you achieve that, a very dedicated Mum.

Congratulations on getting this far. And sincere wishes that your dedicated little mum succeeds.
LML

Gee orix that must be a good hen

Its the old hen you saw and even then I was resigned to the fact that she was over the hill. We have nothing yet but at least there is a chance.
I timed her again tonight and she has held the same pattern

Fantastic Orix, good luck!!
And make sure to post pictures of the babies ;)

Well done and keep the up dates coming

E Orix wrote:This raises the point can birds count because it was exactly the 7th visit with soaked seed.

What a clever Mum she is!

In answer to the question, there is good evidence that birds can count.
Cormorants are famously said to be able to count to eight (see Wikipedia article on bird intelligence).
I could find no studies specifically on finches counting, but I see no reason why they shouldn't be as smart as cormorants.
I found a more extensive and academic article about birds counting at http://www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/avc/emmerton/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;,
which I have scanned but not fully read yet, which seems to agree.

A very interesting observation, thank you.

Or could it be that she knows the total volume of food needed to be fed to the chicks, and that happens to correspond to 7 cropfulls and hence 7 visits?
I don't know the answer to your question Eorix, just putting it out there. I guess we would need to compare it to other nests from the same hen ( especially with different clutch sizes) and between different red-crested hens.

Your detailed observations are very important and should be recorded somewhere more permanently....I see an article coming up!!

The article by you Myzo I presume.