Do you know who finches are? There was a time when our family was not familiar with these interesting birds. But one day in the pet store we heard amazing sounds and were fascinated by these cute birds. We immediately decided to purchase these feathered friends. And now in our family there live three cute, charming creatures - finches. We stocked up on books that talked about keeping, feeding, and breeding these interesting birds; we bought various food and a cage. But the literature did not contain an accurate description of what is necessary for their proper nutrition and life. This is how the need arose to choose healthy and tasty food, to create conditions for a long life for finches in our family. And so that as many people as possible would learn about these interesting birds, we decided to create the book “My Pets Are Finches.”

Finches are songbirds from the family of finch weavers, which, based on the structure of their beaks, are divided into two groups:

• Astrilds - birds with a conical thin beak
• Amadins are birds with a thick, arched beak

Amadins are very dexterous, agile birds. They often live in flocks, sometimes in large flocks. The plumage of these birds is dense, bright, and motley. Males are usually brighter than females. Some birds have seasonal colors. During the mating season, males sport a colorful outfit, and the rest of the time they look like their girlfriends. Cranberries look translucent, as if made of wax. For this feature they received the name - wax-billed. The song of finches is quiet, melodic, with characteristic “ticking” sounds - “tili-li, tili-li.”

There are about 30 species in nature. Let's take a closer look at some of the most striking types.

Japanese finch

Based on the color of the plumage, three colors are distinguished:

• white-black
• white
• yellow-white

All three species have a crest.

These birds were first seen in Japan, hence their name “Japanese finch”. But there are other names. In our country, Japanese finches are sometimes called seagulls. In the Czech Republic they are called “nannies” because they incubate and care for the chicks of finches of other species. They are very good parents. They are also distinguished by their song, which is similar to hissing or whispering.

Zebra finch

The homeland of zebra finches is Australia. This is a small bird (length about 11 cm) very beautiful and unpretentious. The male is brightly colored: his head, neck, and back are ash-gray. An orange-red spot stands out in the cheek area. Its special feature is a black spot on its chest. The underside of the chest and belly are white, and the top of the chest is ash-gray with thin transverse black stripes. Hence the name - zebra. The beak is bright red. The female is more modestly colored - ash-gray, with black stripes on the front of her head.

Zebra finches are:

• Masked or marmoset - on a pure white background there is a bright and clear pattern - black strokes near the eyes and transverse stripes on the tail, and the male also has orange-red spots on the cheeks and spotted red-brown sides.
• “Penguins” or white-bellied - the head, back and tail are variegated, but there are no characteristic strokes near the eyes, and the bottom of the body is pure white.
• “Pestryaki” are zebra finches whose plumage does not have a specific clear pattern and they are most often yellow-billed.
• Black zebra finch - this color is not inherited by offspring and disappears after molting.
• Piebald - the color of these birds is inherited.
• Cream - bred by crossing silver and brown birds.

Diamond finch

These birds make croaking, drawn-out sounds, reminiscent of a flute in timbre.

Onion-green parrot finch

It is interesting that at night only the female incubates the eggs, and during the day both birds take turns. The chicks hatch after two weeks. A remarkable feature of the chicks are the tubercles at the corners of the mouth. They reflect light and therefore glow in the dark. This feature is also characteristic of other species of parrot finches, as well as the Gouldian finches. The main difference from other weavers is that their diet must include soft grains of rice and mineral water containing potassium.

Red-throated finch

The bird is chocolate-colored, with a bright red stripe running along the throat and lower cheeks. These creatures are very aggressive and should not be kept with other weaver birds.

Amadina Gulda

Named after the wife of English zoologist John Gould. This is one of the most beautiful finches. There are three types:

• redhead
• blackhead
• orange-headed

These birds need large cages so that the birds can fly. They are prone to obesity, are afraid of drafts and cannot stand strong odors.

Their mating dances are very interesting, when the male dances and bows, twitching his head and tail. They are bred poorly in captivity and, basically, their eggs are placed on Japanese finches for nurturing.

Often in commercials on TV or on billboards in the city you see beautiful colorful birds that decorate ViewSonic Corporation products.

One day I wanted to know what kind of bird this was and why ViewSonic Corporation decided to make them the emblem of its products.

After a short search in the bird atlas, I found out that it was Gould's finch. And it is natural that the company, which produces monitors and flat-panel displays, chose these birds, with bright multi-colored plumage, as an emblem of the color rendering quality of its products.

Scaly finch

On the chest and lower part of the body there is a dark brown pattern resembling fish scales. There are 12 species based on plumage color. At home, they are calm, hardy and get along well with other birds, but usually quarrel with members of their own species.

Sharp-tailed finch

Amadina is able to drink, like pigeons, continuously for 20 seconds, without lifting its head from the surface of the water.

Lifestyle in nature. Amadins are common in Southeast Asia, Australia, and Africa. Inhabitants of open areas, they live among grassy vegetation, in dense thickets along the edge of the forest, as well as in gardens and parks. In nature, they build peculiar nests - spherical, pear-shaped, egg-shaped - from leaves, fastening them with plants. For this they received the name weavers.

Captivity

Cell. At home, weavers are kept in cages, cages and enclosures of various shapes and sizes.

Cells are:

• all-metal
• wooden
• combined (the cage itself is made of wood, and the bars are made of steel wire).

All types of cells are suitable for keeping finches, but they all have their own disadvantages and advantages. Particular attention should be paid to the doors, which should be located below the perches and close securely. This arrangement is convenient for supplying water to finches in the drinking bowl and food in the hanging feeder.

The cage must have a retractable tray, which makes cleaning easier and allows less disturbance to the birds.

Each cage or enclosure must have one or more feeders, a drinking bowl, a jar for mineral food, nesting devices and several perches. The feeder for finches should be retractable or suspended. Also in the cage there should be a bathtub for bathing birds made of strong material, the size of which should be slightly larger than the bird itself, and the depth of water should not be more than 1.5 cm. As soon as the cage is ready, bedding is poured onto the bottom: clean river sand, coarse sawdust or small shavings or newsprint, which is changed daily.

Feeding

Proper feeding is important for maintaining the health and successful reproduction of birds.

The main food for finches is a grain mixture (millet, canary seed, plant seeds). Finches eat white millet best.

Also, during the period of feeding the chicks, finches should be given mealworms, insect larvae, egg yolk, and non-acidic cottage cheese. It is recommended to feed finches every morning at the same time, giving them the entire grain mixture at once. Finely chopped vegetables, fruits and fresh herbs should be given daily and without restrictions.

Taming

For their extraordinary exotic plumage and magnificent singing, finches have long been popular among lovers of indoor birds. For example, the Japanese finch has been kept and bred in captivity for more than 400 years. In Europe, finches appeared as house birds about 300 years ago.

But no matter how tame your finch has become, remember that it is small and gentle, retaining its wild nature. She will never be comfortable when you put your hands in the cage, and she will not enjoy squeezing. Be lenient with your tamed bird and allow it to come to you whenever it wants. Never chase or scare birds!

These are very smart little birds that will remember any unkind behavior on your part.

My pets

I have three birds at home: a pair of zebras and one Japanese finch. The zebra finches were only 4 weeks old when we bought them. The female zebra finch initially had a black beak, which we were very surprised by, because in the books it is described that their beak is bright red. After two weeks, the black color on the beak began to decrease, and a red color began to appear. Now our girl with a red beak. The female was ash-gray in color, but now the predominant color is white. The male was gray and had no characteristic coloring. The color of the plumage began to appear later: white specks appeared on a light brown background near the wings, and the color became brighter. At first the cheeks were the same color, but now a “blush” began to appear, and the cheeks became orange-red.

The Japanese finch is a very beautiful chocolate color with white stripes. She also has a very beautiful tail, shaped like a fan. My finches are different in character. Zebras are bolder compared to the Japanese bird. They also have different singing. The singing of zebra finches resembles the clicks, quacks, and sometimes meows of a kitten. The Japanese finch simply whistles. Zebras love to sleep in the nest, hiding their head under the wing, and fly out only to feed. The Japanese one, on the contrary, sleeps sitting on a perch. My pets love millet, boiled finely chopped eggs, chalk, and most of all - treats for parrots, apples and other fruits. It is also necessary to give my birds fresh water.

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