Blue Headed Cordon Bleu – (Uraeginthus cyanocephala) If you have ever seen the blue cap male in his courting dance and noticed the way he fans out his feathers at the front of his forehead forming a type of cap, you will understand why he is called the blue cap. Blue caps are an African [...]

In Australia, the Pytilia family of finches are popular members of many collections. Most finch breeders confidently talk about Melbas, (green winged Pytilias), Auroras (Red Winged Pytilias), the Yellow Winged Pytilias, which have yellow wings and a red head, but seem to struggle on the details when it comes to the black sheep of the [...]

Star Finch (neochmia ruficadua) Found across Northern Australia from the Pilbara, Western Australia to Cape York. The Star Finch species is well established in Australian aviculture. Although there are probably several sub-species of this finch, the birds we keep are probably a mixture of some from the west and some from the east. These birds [...]

Is there a more beautiful finch than the Gouldian? An old friend of mine said they must have been the most beautiful creature ever created and I tend to agree. This is the time of the year when you start to see the results of the past breeding season. The birds are partly through the [...]

These birds are one of my favourite finches. I have always had them. The yellow beak defines them from the eastern race, the Hecks Longtail with its somewhat stronger tones of colour and the distinctive red beak. I do not keep the Hecks as I find I need as much room as possible to keep [...]