The Red browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis) is a member of
the same family as the Star Finch and the Plum Headed Finch. In captivity, it is more commonly known as
the Sydney Waxbill or the Red Headed Waxbill, even though it isn’t a waxbill as
such.
In the wild, these birds live in Australia and tend to call
the wetter parts of the country home. They
live in vegetation such as mangrove belts and forests beside open country as
well as scrubland and even in gardens near the cities. Its range covers New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland
and parts of coastal eastern South Australia.
The species has also been introduced to French Polynesia.
Description
These little birds probably are called waxbills due to their
bright red beak, red rump feathers and red eye stripe that is similar to some
of the waxbill species. They are
colourful in a muted way with the head being a bluish-grey, the back and wings
olive and the belly grey. They are
typically around 11-12cm in length.
In the wild, they are found in mini flocks of around 10-20
birds that either live in one place or roam around a small area of about
10km.
In Captivity
Generally, they live well with others though can become a
little aggressive if they are over crowded.
There is also an outside change of cross breeding with Stars and Plum
headed due to close family relations.
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| Source: Wikipedia |
They live seeds, particularly grass and sedge seeds but will
also make use of any non-native grasses that present themselves. In an aviary, this translates to a good
foreign finch seed diet including millet, canary seed, pancium and Niger
seed. When they are breeding, mealworms
or other live food will be important and offer a range of greens and fruit for
them to try. Birds are like people; some
things they like and some they don’t so it can be trial and error to get their
favourites but their health will thank for you the efforts.
They have been found to appreciate better a planted aviary
than a breeding cage as this gives them more room and less chance of feeling
crowded. Also due to their preference
for nest building in shrubs, a planted aviary will help them feel at home to do
this, as they often don’t use a nest box when offered.
Breeding
The Red Browed Finch is classed as a weaver finch because it
builds a large nest that is domed with a side entrance and uses grass and
little twigs to do this. In the wild,
the nest is built 2-3 metres above the ground in dense shrubbery and nests are
built in colonies.
Four to six eggs are laid and both parents take their turn
at incubating the eggs. Incubation is
usually around 13 days and the chicks fledge at two weeks old. By the age of one month, they are weaned and
self-supporting. They typically nest
from October to April in the wild and can have two or three clutches per
breeding season.
