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The Red-faced Parrotfinch -
Erythrura psittacae
When I started breeding finches many years ago
Red-faced Parrotfinches were quite scarce. To me they were the most beautiful
exotic finch I could hope to keep and breed in the future. The fact that now,
some thirty years later they are quite a common species, immensely popular and
now seen as a stepping stone to other rare species to today’s finch breeding
beginners, shows that they truly are an avicultural success story. Much of the
recent interest in the species has revolved around the pied and sea-green
mutations, but I just can’t get past my fixation for nature’s version of the
Red-faced Parrotfinch. Above all others, they receive the most “wows” “oohs” and
“aahs” from non bird people viewing my finch collection. This is the best
indicator of their instant visual appeal. Their vivid bright green body colour
and starkly contrasting red head and tail provides a very simple but striking
combination hard to beat in more intricate and finely-featured finch species. To
go with the colour is an almost hyperactive and outgoing character.
They naturally occur in New Caledonia. Being of such tropical origins they
naturally prefer a warmer aviary environment. As they have become more
domesticated, their increased tolerance of conditions very different from the
wild habitat has become noticeable. They are now commonly kept and bred freely
in cooler climatic zones and under more intensive forms of housing than was the
case many years ago. However, my clear preference is to still breed them in
large planted aviaries which receive direct sunshine to fully appreciate their
beauty. Under such conditions they mix quite well with most species, although I
prefer not to house them with the rarer, more delicate species simply because of
their “in your face” activity levels and especially their ravenous appetite for
all the best foods, therefore, I mostly mix “bread’n’butter” species with them.
They will breed well as single pairs and also in colonies, however there are a
couple of recommendations I would make if intending to setup a colony of any
Parrotfinches. The courtship ritual is fairly aggressive and the pair bond is
not strong so there needs to be a couple of safeguards to protect your hens.
Firstly, I would keep less pairs in the colony rather than more. Secondly, I
would keep an extra hen or two in the colony. Ideally, I’d suggest 2 cocks to 3
hens or 3 cocks to 5 hens. I wouldn’t go any larger than this unless aviary size
is huge. These suggestions are to ensure hens are not repeatedly pack-raped as
is possible if there are too many unoccupied males compared to females.
In addressing their dietary requirements I should stress from the outset that
they are real hogs. They enjoy eating every-bloody-thing. Particular favorites
are green seed, Lebanese cucumber, mealworms, sprouted seed, canary seed,
soft-foods, pasture and lawn seed mixes, fruits, termites and a partridge in a
pear tree. Within reason you can do no wrong when feeding Red-faced Parrot
finches. They are extremely adaptable and willing to utilize whatever diet
suit’s the keeper. Ideally, their diet should contain regular greens, some live
food for rearing food and the basic seed mixes and grits as a minimum.
Particular attention should be paid to avoiding too much fattening foods as
Parrotfinches are prone to obesity when a full smorgasbord is provided day in
day out. This especially is an issue in smaller aviaries. Foods likely to cause
obesity if overfed are most softfood powders, egg and biscuit mixes, cake,
hulled oats, plain canary seed, sunflower kernels and too many mealworms.
Overfat birds are likely to have reduced breeding drive and low fertility. My
Parrotfinches are not fed any soft food powders, egg food, hulled oats, or
sunflower kernels. Canary seed is restricted to 20% of my basic seed mix and
mealworms are fed sparingly, only 10-12 to each breeding aviary during the
breeding season. My primary live food source is termites. Other breeding foods
supplied are green grass seed, Lebanese cucumber, sprouted seed and a dry tonic
seed mix comprising numerous types of pasture and lawn seeds. Breeding aviaries
are long and wide ensuring continuous exercise. All live foods and most other
breeding foods are not fed between early December and late February when
breeding pairs are spelled and aviaries cleaned out and refurbished. This
combination of measures results in no obesity problems with my Parrotfinches.
Red-faced Parrotfinches will nest at any time of year, however they show a
greater breeding drive in warmer weather. I allow mine to breed from March to
November. As the weather warms up in mid to late spring I notice they renest
sooner than they did through the cooler months. The most visible part of the
courtship ritual is a vigorous chasing of the hen by the cock. This is sometimes
preceded by a short song which is often kept up during the chase. The male
eventually holds the hens nape feathers with his beak and apparently rapes her.
They will readily use nest boxes or dried brush as preferred nest sites. The one
fairly consistent preference I have found is a relatively low site, most around
0.5 -1.5 metres high. They build a fairly large and solid structure compared to
other similar sized finches. Nest materials of any grasses and feathers are
bundled up in the beak before carrying to the nest site. The Male does most of
the carrying of material and construction. Clutch size is usually 3 to 5. As
with most estrildid finches, both sexes share incubation duties. Hatching occurs
in 13-14 days. Young are naked and pale-skinned with blue flourescence on the
gape to allow parents to locate their mouths in the darkness of the nest
chamber. Parents' appetite for live food, green seed, etc goes ape droppings
while young are in the nest. Fledging occurs about 20 days from hatching. Young
are fully independent at about 3 weeks out of the nest, although I don’t remove
mine from the breeding aviary until at least 4-5 weeks. In the warmer months my
pairs will renest prior to the current clutch fledging, however in the cooler
months the same pairs renest when the current clutch is about a week or so out
of the nest.
Visual sexing is not always easy. Young birds are not as vivid in their
first year compared to later years and it is usually first year birds which
require sexing. Most individuals can be reliably sexed by the intensity
and area of the red head colour. Cocks have slightly brighter red which
usually extends noticeably behind the eye. First year hens' red area
usually doesn't extend behind the eye and the black lores are
usually much wider than the male. Other slight differences to use as
back-up for sexing decisions are males have slightly longer tail with more
prominent two central tail feathers. Many males also have red feathers
around the vent whereas first year hens rarely have these.
Being messy, unfussy eaters and enjoying fossicking on the
ground, Red-faced Parrotfinches are especially prone to internal parasite
infestation. Therefore, a rigorous preventative treatment program for
worms and coccidia is essential for a healthy aviary population. I worm my
entire collection every three months and treat for coccidia immediately
following any periods of wet weather. The risk of these potential problems
can be further minimised by maintaining a dry aviary floor and attention to
detail in hygienic feeding and watering routines.
The domestication of the Red-faced Parrotfinch over several
decades has resulted in a very secure aviary population of good quality stock.
In general, the species exhibits a ready willingness to breed combined with
excellent parenting skills. They are very adaptable to various climatic zones,
aviary types and dietary routines applied by the many aviculturists who keep
them. And given a decent standard of care including regular preventative
health measures, they have proven themselves to be quite hardy. All this
in a stunningly beautiful package. If you don't already keep and breed
Red-faced Parrotfinches, perhaps you should.
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