Aussie Finch Forum

Was watching some of the silverbills the other day and noticed that on one it seemed to have a patterning on its stomach feathers, has anyone else seen this?

will post pics when i work out how

Would be interesting to see the pictures. After reading this I went outside to have a look at mine and saw no patterning whatsoever. I'll try get some pictures of mine up at some point to give a comparison.

I went out to check mine too, same as Lachlan no patterning.....Very interested in seen those pictures.

apologies, they arent the best photos. the one im trying to take a pic of is just too quickand when i caught it up it was hard to focus and aim my camera (phone) with one hand

No patterming on mine either. May be cross spice finch but only saying maybe

I got mine from a reputable breeder, so I can guarantee that they aren't.
It is interesting, if it is a mutation its gotta be recessive as neither of is siblings have the same displayed phenotype.

Whilst silverbills are a fantastic little finch and definitely deserve a spot in our aviaries I think even the most experienced breeders would have to admit they probably don't truly know the background of all their birds. The strong likelihood is that most are a mix of spice, bengo, indian silverbill or something of the like (somewhere along the line anyway). This is the same with Javan munias as well unfortunately.

I'm more than happy to be wrong, in fact I hope I am, but that is my opinion on the matter anyway.

I keep 2 pairs of silverbills and they are breeding very well... expecting 2 batches of young to fledge any day. They would have to be one of the most compatible finches that anyone could keep and are very easy to maintain. I will always have some floating around my aviaries just in case history repeats itself.

Highly recommend breeders investing a bit of time in these birds and possibly finding another use for them... I don't foster any of my birds but I have always thought possibly African silverbills would be a better alternative than bengos? Reason I say that is maybe they don't leave the footprints/diseases bengos do on other birds young and you can get about $40 a pair for them anyway.

Sorry for the rant... my mind wanders...

The only reason I say mine are pure is because I purchased mine from the same breeder that the QFS sourced their original stock from.

looking at some of the mutations on the web, they seem not dissimilar to the chocolate mutation where the whole body of the bird is darker, especially the front of the bird

When i was breeding them a few years ago i was able to sex them by the clearer/lighter colour of the belly of the cock.Is that bird a hen? Craig