FEATURE
egg, as this type of supplementary food is popular with the Cuban finch. Fine shellgrit, crushed eggshells and cuttlefish bone should be available all the time. Clean fresh water is important and they enjoy bathing regularly.
Breeding in captivity A special feature of the Cuban finch is its continuing interest in breeding. They will breed virtually all-year-round except for the colder winter months of a cooler climatic area when, of course, it is unwise to allow them to nest. If given adequate and draught-free quarters they will live happily in colder climates and breed regularly. When the male is in breeding condition he will pursue the female around the aviary relentlessly, often with nesting material in his beak. This species has the fascinating habit of being able to conceal its nest and often you are not aware they are nesting. This is compounded by the female who is at all times is a light sitter, leaving the nest whenever she hears someone approaching the aviary. The male utters a short alarm call. Usually she will stay off the nest until you leave the aviary vicinity. Even the closing of a back door of a house has been known to make her leave the nest. They prefer to build their dome-shaped
nest a growing bush, or dry brush in the shelter section of the aviary, the latter according to Russell Kingston is their favoured nest site. In his experience he has
never observed them having their nest site below one metre in an aviary (1998). Nestboxes are rarely used for nesting,
although they will use receptacles such as a wire mesh cylinder. The nest, which is large for such a small bird, is made from materials such as fine grass, swamp grass and pampas grass fronds. Feathers are popular for lining the nest. Both male and female are involved in nest construction. The entrance to the nest is low and access to the nesting chamber is upwards - this is a special feature of their nest. Copulation, which may take place in
the open, commences with the female crouching low on the perch, quivering excitedly, and calling to her mate. Pair bond in this species is strong and mutual preening is common. Although several experienced
aviculturists have commented on them plucking their own kind I did not have this experience with the breeding pairs I have kept. Certainly allopreening (where one bird raises the feathers on the back of its head and neck and the other bird preens this area) is a popular activity. The usual clutch is 2-4 small eggs that are
white with reddish-brown spots over them. Only the female incubates the eggs, which take 12-14 days to hatch. Nest inspection which, due to the design of the nest as mentioned above, is unwise. I remember the first time I bred them [in the 1960s] they deserted the eggs after I made the mistake of inspecting the nest.
BIRD SCENE 37
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