or star finch, as the male Cuban might become aggressive towards them. It is preferable; if possible, to avoid housing them in adjoining aviaries that have wire mesh divisions as their aggressive nature, to their own kind, can cause bickering between neighbouring males.
Feeding
temperatures throughout the year in their natural range are from around 10 degrees Celsius, through to 35 degrees Celsius (Kingston (1998).
Housing
Although it is an interesting species when housed in a large, well-planted aviary, they have been successfully bred in aviaries of all types and sizes. After a few years of keeping and breeding the Cuban finch I realised it didn’t matter what the aviary was like - so long as the basic needs were available, eg dry brush in the shelter section for roosting at night and nest building. An earthen floor is desirable as it spends a lot of time fossicking on the aviary floor. The aviary, regardless, of type or size, must be draught-free. They enjoy bathing in a fine mist spray especially in the warmer months of the year.
It is wise to keep only one pair in a mixed collection of finches and, importantly, not to include species that feature yellow as part of their plumage colour, eg green singing finch
08 BIRD SCENE
It is an easy species to cater for and the usual small seeds are relished including white panicum, red panicum, white millet, jap millet, canary, and niger. They are fond of seeding grasses - especially panic veldt grass Ehrharta erecta, flowering heads of milk thistle, soaked or sprouted seed, plain cake, lettuce, silverbeet, pear, apple, orange and the vinegar fly Drosophila which is attracted to rotting fruit. To create a rotting fruit culture I cut up citrus fruit as well as adding pieces of apple and tomato, replacing the ingredients as necessary. Many breeders also supply an egg and biscuit food to which is added a hard-boiled 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-
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