![]() ![]() Coconut fiber is okay if it’s cut into smaller pieces. Nesting material is essential - short, clean string or long, soft grasses are best. The males love to build nests and seek out new nesting sites. They prefer a covered woven nest to a nest box. Owl finches will set up a nest in just about anything. ![]() This is true for many commonly kept bird species, especially if they are true pairs. Four owl finches may fight and compete with one another, whereas six birds will be more peaceable. In an aviary or large cage, it’s essential to keep at least three pairs of owl finches if there is to be more than one pair. This is highly discouraged among the bird community. Because they are closely related to the zebra finch, these two species may successfully interbreed, resulting in “mules,” birds which can’t reproduce. They will get along with most other Australian and Old World finches, as well as canaries, but they don’t like to be crowded. An aviary is great, one that’s full of branches and safe foliage. The owl finch needs generous housing, and does best in a larger space. Males do have a soft, sweet song and females do not, so separating birds and listening for the song is one way of determining gender. The males are said to have thicker bands and a whiter chest, though this is not always consistent. The visual difference between the sexes is so slight, even owl finch experts have a difficult time telling the males from the females. Because of crosses with the nominate owl finch (which has a white rump), the rumps on some birds may be blotchy - not quite black, not quite white. There is one subspecies, the black-rumped owl finch, which has, obviously, a black rump. The wings are brown with white speckles, and the “face mask” is white. It stands between 3 and 4 inches in length, and has two distinct black bars above and below a whitish-beige chest, one bar circling the underpart of the “chin,” and the other rounding the bird’s underside. ![]() In terms of coloration, the owl finch can’t compete with another popular Australian citizen, the Gouldian, or even the common zebra finch, but its distinctive markings and social disposition give it a character all its own. The owl finch a grass finch, also known as the Bicheno finch or the double-barred finch, is a lively addition to a community aviary and a good bird for the novice who may not have a lot of experience with birds. ![]()
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