From the time of the ban on importation
of exotic finches into Australia no wild caught Cuban finches have been introduced into our small gene pool of this popular species.
Description The accompanying painting of a male Cuban finch by renowned artist, Howard Robinson - a member of our society, illustrates the distinctive coloration of an adult male. Unlike many other finch species the male and female are dimorphic (i.e. plumage colours are different). The female has dark chestnut-brown around the head instead of black, the yellow is paler, and its appearance is quite different to the male. Length 9cm. Juveniles, which resemble females at the time of fledging, except for their short tail, usually cannot be sexed at that time except for young males, which often sport an odd black feather shortly after leaving the nest
The Genus Tiaris The Cuban finch is one of five species in the genus Tiaris and the “only one that is well-known in aviculture” (Restall 2007). The five small tanager-finches, also known as grassquits, are: 1 Cuban finch T. canora 2 Black-faced grassquit T. bicolour omissa 3 Yellow-faced finch T. olivacea (formerly known as the olive finch)
4 Sooty grassquit T. fuliginosa 5 Dull-coloured grassquit T. obscura
Distribution and habitat It is distributed in Cuba and nearby islands. In the wild it apparently frequents woodlands, pinewoods, coffee plantations, cultivated areas, house gardens and areas of grassland bordering fields. The average 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 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
26 BIRD SCENE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50
