New Jersey Finch Quest - Strawberry Finch

(Amandava amandava)
Scientific name: Amandava amandava
Strawberry Finches are in the Estrildidae family

Origin & Area of Distribution: Strawberry Finches are found from India through southern Asia and Malaysia. India, China, Kingdom of Thailand (formerly Siam), Java (of the Greater Sunda Islands), Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Alor).

Physical Description: Strawberry Finches are slightly less than 4" (10 cm). The beak, as in most waxbills, is red. These are the only waxbill where the male goes out of color when not breeding.

When in color (which occurs seasonally, usually April until November), the male appears as follows: top of head & back are deep mahogany brown, sides of head, throat, chest & belly are scarlet, tail is black, flanks, wings & tail coverts have white spots, the rump is scarlet, the beak is red, the eye stripes are black with a white stripe just below each eye, and the feet are pink. When out of color, he appears similar to the hen: reddish brown with a few white spots, the throat & mid-belly being a creamy off-yellow, the sides of the body being light brown-gray, pink legs, red beak, black eye stripe. As the hen enters breeding condition, her tail feathers may become more black and her chest may develop a tinge of yellow-orange.

Care and Feeding: Fresh food and water must be provided daily. A good finch seed mix will provide their everyday preference for white and yellow millets and canary seed and is readily available at a pet store. In a separate cup supply green foods regularly, such as lettuce, spinach, celery tops, and chickweed. They also enjoy sprouted canary seed. Other supplements include Insects - fruit flies, ant pupae, small, freshly molted meal worms, and sprouted seeds, green seed, mealworms, aphids, and daphnia. Finch treats of seed with honey, fruits and vegetables are fun for your bird too, as well as nutritious!

Grit with charcoal is essential to aid in digestion and it contains valuable minerals and trace elements. Grit should be provided in a special cup or sprinkled over the bottom of the cage floor. Provide a cuttlebone because the calcium it provides will give your bird a firm beak, strong eggshells when breeding, and will prevent egg binding. The lime in the cuttlebone also aids in digestion.

Offer your finch a bath occasionally by providing a bath dish that is 1" deep with a 1/2" of water, or a clip on bath house.

Their nails may have to be trimmed frequently, but be careful never to clip into the vein as the bird can quickly bleed to death. Bird nail trimmers and styptic powder to stop the bleeding are available at pet shops.

Natural Habitat: Open brush, sugar cane fields, reeds and tall grassy area along bodies of water. In the wild, strawberry finches live in large flocks outside the breeding season, and pair off to breed.

Special considerations: Do not house with Gold Breasts in order to prevent crossbreeding.

Housing: Strawberry Finches do well indoors in a cage, but will need to be in an aviary if you wish them to rear young. Place the cage where it is well ventilated though free from drafts, and against a wall at eye level. It should have good light but be away from doors and windows where direct exposure to sunlight can make it overly warm.

Provide two or three good softwood perches about 3/8" to 3/4" in diameter. Tree branches of a similar size also make good perches and will help to wear the claws down naturally. Provide separate dishes for food, water, treats, and grit. Place paper on the cage bottom that can be sprinkled with grit, or use a grit paper.

Strawberry Finches also do very well in aviaries or bird rooms. The screening should be 3/8" square mesh. Dishes for food, water, grit and bathing water must be included along with perches and a wide variety of nests. Leafy branches, tall grasses and reeds, and dense bushes will make the space more enjoyable for the finches as well as providing nesting materials.

Social Behaviors: Strawberry Finches are social and live in large flocks in the wild. They are friendly with other finches and do well when kept in groups. Strawberry finches have a beautiful flute like song.

Activities: Strawberry Finches are active and very energetic breeders.

Breeding/Reproduction: Strawberry Finches are willing breeders in an aviary, but not in a cage.They are easy to sex when the male is in breeding coloration and the male has a pleasant song. Provide them with a wide variety of nest boxes and finch nests and let them choose, as what they like often varies. They need nesting materials such as grass stalks, hay, and coconut fiber and will line the nest with soft materials such as moss and feathers. When rearing their young they like live small insects, such as ant and mosquito larvae, daphnia, and also green seeds. Strawberry Finches will often keep breeding to exhaustion, so you should pull the nests for the season after the third clutch.

Clutch size: 4-7 eggs (4 most common)
Incubation: Done by both parents.
Hatch date: After 11-14 days of incubation
Fledge date: At 20 days of age
Wean date: About 40 days of age

Potential Problems: Strawberry Finches are fairly hardy birds and almost all illnesses can be traced to improper diet, dirty cages, and drafts. A balanced diet and plenty of exercise will prevent most illnesses. Know your birds and watch for real drastic changes as indications of illness.

Some signs of illness to be aware of are droppings that are not black and white, feathers that are ruffled, lack of appetite, wheezing, and acts feeble and run down.

Some of the common illnesses and injuries your finch could contract are broken wings or legs, cuts and open wounds, overgrown beaks and nails, ingrown feathers, feather picking, confinement cramps in the legs from a cage that is too small, weight loss, heat stroke, shock, concussion, egg binding, diarrhea, mites, colds, baldness, scaly legs, sore eyes, tumors, constipation, and diarrhea.

First you can try and isolate the bird in a hospital cage where you cover all but the front of the cage and add a light bulb or heating pad to keep the interior of the cage at a constant temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove all perches and put food and water dishes on the floor. If you don't see improvements within a few hours, take the bird to an avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

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