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TRANSCRIPT
Two satinette green/inches and two cinnamons.
by Vladimir KulhavyToronto, Ontario, Canada
to why 0 many p opl keep bird inpoorly lit ba n1ent wh n they haveampl opportunit to build gardenaviarie .
On unn day, e en in January thecock greenfinch tart inging hi quitenice ong orne hat r mini cent of acanar . And he 11 continue to ing untilthe nd of bre ding season. Becausethey are uch ociable bird the rnab bred on a colon) t m or t 0 h nrna b bred with one cock.
I feed m birds a mixture of canaryeed rape whit millet niger and
popp eed ith generou portion ofunflo er eed . From the arri al of
'pring I allow the e seeds to sprout bythrowing them on the earth floor of thea iar and forking th m over twice aweek. I also pick all the eeding weeds Ican find and I include green and fruit,prin1aril) apple and orange . B causethe a iarie are h a, ily planted thebirds ar abl to find in ect . When theyare ne ting, the greenfinches pendmo t of their time hunting the in ects.To supplenlent the in ect diet I pro' idean egg food which i a great help whenthe) rai young.
ince greenfinche are the mostdomesticated pecie of Europeanfinch, a nun1b r of color mutation havede eloped. The e lTIutation are rareand therefore exp n iv but can beobtained from Europ if one i Hling topersev reo In my ca it took over twoyear from the tim I contacted Briti ha iculturi t until I wa able to importthree pair of mutation gr nfinche. Asfar a I know I am at the pre nt timethe only per on in anada or th SA
Continued on page 6
A lutino green/inch. Note the red eyes.
The greenfinch m a ure about sixinche long. The male i mainl llowgreen with a teely gr y back and bright
110 ing bars. The female is notice-ably duller. They ar prolific br ed rne ting t 0 or thr e time per ea onwhich begins in pril. They are con idered an ea specie for captive breeding even for beginner and can be bredin cage or a iarie .
From m per onal experi nce Iwould recon1mend the u e of aviariefor the follo ing r a on . Fir t greenfinche' are e tremely hard birds andcan be int red out id ithout heateven in ver cold climates. Second, thecan b mixed with other bird in anaviar) ith no bad effect. In m gardena iary there are in addition to thegreenfinches European goldfinches,bullfinch linnet k lark and Pekinrobin.
To protect the birds from strongwinter winds and snowstorm I coverthe e po ed ide of the aviar ithpla'ti . There i no doubt in m mindthat bird kept outdoor throughout theyear ha e plumage uperior to that ofbird kept ind or . The eem healthi rand th e en come into breeding condition at the right time. I am puzzled a
European OreenfinchesThe Ideal Aviary Birdfor North America?
I am fully awar that by ch00 ing thistitle I am allo ing m. If to com underthe fir of e re critici m becau r
riou bre der b Ii e that di tinctionhould be re er ed for hi or her own
fa orite p ci . And ho many peoplein orth Am rica do keep r br ed thegreenfinch e cept for a few canaryhybridizer ? Yet I hop that b the endof thi article I will be abl to upplynough upporti e argum nt to ju tif
thi claim and will hopefully, tir uporne interest in the e omewhat a er
looked bird .The European greenfinch, Carduelis
chloris, i still a fairly common bird inEurope a well a in parts of A ia and
orth fri a in pite of a can tantlwor ening de truction of the Europeancountr id. It' ucce s is due mainly toit adaptability to a changed en ironment. Originally a bird of the fore t itcan no b found in the country ideand aloin the city park and garden.In winter the gr nfinch is among therna t enterpri ing i itor at th birdfeeder and it join flock of otherfinche in the countryside feeding on
eed . The are u eful to man b feeding on eed and upon man gardenin ect during the breeding ea on.
4 0 toberl 0 emb r 198
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who is breeding these mutation greenfinches. These wonderful birds wereworth the extra time and effort to getthem, however.
Presently there are three basicmutations well established, with othersappearing sporadically. The oldest oneis lutino with the bird being completelyyellow and having red eyes. The hentends to be a little more whitish.
The second mutation is cinnamon. Inthis mutation the black is eliminated,the bird being brownish on a yellowground.
The third mutation is silver, the birdbeing completely grey. Other mutationsalso appear; satinette, which looks likelutino but with a brownish tinge; silverwith white wing bars; and one or twoothers heard of but not seen. All of thesemutations are sex-linked.
Breeding this year has producedmixed results. I raised four young birdsfrom a lutino pair (with the help ofcanaries), and six babies are about tofledge as I write this. Their parentsconsist of a cinnamon male raised lastyear and a wild hen of uncertain age. Ofthe six babies, two are normal coloredmales split for cinnamon, two cinnamon hens, and two satinettes.
I received the lutino pair lastDecember and had to keep themindoors until they could be acclimated.I didn't expect to breed them as mostEuropean finches take two years tomature. The lutino hen, however, laidfour eggs at the end of February butmade no attempt to sit on them. Theeggs were put under canaries andturned out to be fertile but died in theshell. The second clutch was also foureggs, and this time the hen was sittingwell, however, when the first two babieshatched I found them dead on the floorof the cage with numerous wounds. Itransferred the two remaining eggsunder a canary and two lutinos wereeventually raised. A third clutch was laidand exactly the same situation repeateditself.
However, I don't place the blame onthe birds. I think it was a combination oftheir immaturity and the confines of asmall cage that caused this misfortuneand I believe that next year in an aviarythey will raise their offspring withoutmy interference.
With the second pair of greenfinchesI had more luck. Initially I had reservations about the hen which was a twoyear cage bird that I used to replace theoriginal cinnamon hen who disappeared under mysterious circumstances.The replacement hen at first refused themale's courting. In the middle of May,
NEW YORKFeathered Friends Bird ClubFinger Lakes Cage Bird AssociationGreater Rochester Hookbill
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Dedicated to conservation of bird wildlife through encouragement ofcaptive breeding programs, scientific research, and education of the general public.
For information about contacting any of these member clubs, please callthat club's closest state coordinator. There is a state coordinator
listing with phone numbers elsewhere in this publication.
MEMBER NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONSAfrican Love Bird Society American Budgerigar Society, Inc. International Dove Society
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6 October/November 1987
1987-1988 OFFICERSTHOMAS C. MARSHALL/President (703) 759-5978
PHYLLIS MARTIN/lsi Vice President (813) 839-4751 DAVIS KOFFRON/2nd Vice President (602) 268-9237DAVID M. RICHARDS/Chief Financial Officer (714) 839-1916 KAYE BREDEHORST/Corresponding Secretary (703) 281-4136
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Rockwood, Ontario, Canada Pelland-White Flint Plaza, Kensington, MDHouse of Tropicals, Glen Burnie, MD Pritchard Bookkeeping Service, EI Cajon, CAKaytee Products, Inc., Chilton, WI Reliable Protein Products, Studio City, CAKellogg, Inc., Milwaukee, WI RolfC. Hagen, Inc., S1. Laurent, Quebec, CanadaKey Kritters, Inc., Key Largo, FL Safari City Pets, Seattle, WAKoolau Pets, Kaneohe, HI Scarlet Oak Aviaries, Glenwillow, OHMagnolia Bird Farm, Anaheim, CA Scooter's Pet Shop, Novato, CAMichael's Bird Paradise, Inc., Riviera Beach, FL The Perico Companies, Houston, TXNekton U.S.A., Inc., S1. Petersburg, FL Vivigen, Inc., Santa Fe, NMPet Farm, Inc., Miami. FL Your Basic Bird, Berkeley, CA
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however, she built a nest and soon afterbegan sitting on eggs. The young greenfinches hatched after 14 days incubationand have grown rather rapidly, probablythanks to the animal protein they werereceiving in the form of insects. Attwelve days of age they are alreadyfeathered and I expect them to leave thenest any day.
Of course a lot of things can still gowrong but, so far, I have found mybreeding experiments with greenfinches quite promising, especiallysince 1don't qualify as an experiencedbreeder as I have kept European birdsfor only the past four years.
So, presenting my case for these birds,they are lively and elegant birds, goodsingers, very hardy and easy to keep,good breeders and, thanks to the colormutations, they offer a challenge totheir breeders. The normally coloredgreenfinches are from time to timeavailable on the market and the scarcityof the mutations only enhances theirdesirability.
I would like to end this article with apersonal appeal. Through my four yearsof specializing in keeping and breedingEuropean birds I have encountered twomajor obstacles. One is the disintereston the part of many owners of thesebirds to make a serious effort to breedthem, falsely believing they will alwaysbe available. That misconception is evidenced in dwindling numbers ofEuropean countries which still permitan export of their native birds. There isno doubt in my mind that very soonthese birds will not be available throughimporting them legally. And I don'tthink smuggling them into the countrywill work either. First off, no ethicalperson would do it. Second, the risingnumber of people caught smugglingother birds and the heavy fines makeone think twice about undertaking suchan adventure. And if a few weresmuggled in they would be so overpriced as to be out of reach for theaverage breeder.
Another frustrating experience I'vehad is the inability to find suitable matesfor my greenfinches. Therefore I aminviting correspondence from othersinterested in breeding greenfinches. Wecan exchange breeding information aswell as surplus stock. There may evenbe enough people to establish a corresponding club. I firmly believe thatsuch cooperation is necessary if wewant to see these beautiful birds established in North American aviculture.Interested persons may write to Born ToFly, 32]uliana Court, Toronto, Ontario,Canada M6S 2R2.•
afa WATCHBIRD 7