Aussie Finch Forum

Hi ive been breeding star finches for yrs , the cock has a bright red / orange face and the hen has way less coloration of the face. Ive been breeding and selling pairs using this reasoning . I only just learnt the hens dont have colouring on the bottom jaw. Well my breeding efforts should improve now and for those people I may have sold a pr of cocks as a breeding pr I apologise, i guess its part of being human

That's unreal mate but some hens do show some head colour under the lower bill but no where near as much as cock birds do.

Thanks Craig I dont feel so bad now as I was sure they were hens and cocks I was selling.

I have always sexed them by "maximum face colour = male, minimum face colour = female" while being aware that some of the middling ones are a bit of a gamble as to being a poor coloured cock (probable) or a well coloured hen (less likely)
So you are not alone Shnapper