I have no words...simply BEAUTIFUL!!! I have an aviary too with some plants and with a little river inside...it's truly fantastic too see them having bath inside, it's almost like see them in nature! What a great passion... Thanx for the video! ;-)
Yes, this is an outdoor aviary in the UK. The flight is completely covered in thick, clear plastic and so is relatively draught free. The attached shed is extremely well insulated and heated to around 20C, so the birds have the option of going into the warm, or outside. Gouldians and blue-caps do both experience frosts in the wild and are hardier than many people think, but I would never keep them without heat in the winter. I feed my birds just before dusk, so that they sleep in the shed.
Thanks Mia, I really enjoyed viewing this and will send it to my sister who loves finches and bred them when she lived in Melbourne...I will also send it to Carol who of course loves all wildlife.Deb
When they aren't breeding, it is more seed and less of the veg and eggfood. I live in the UK and they stay outside all year. The flight is always covered in clear plastic, so relatively draught free. When it is summer and sunny, the flight quickly warms up to around 30C, which is fine for Gouldians and waxbills, and rarely drops below 0C in the winter. The shed is well insulated with an oil radiator, set to a min of 20C.
It is also worth noting that green singers can take ages to feel comfortable enough to breed. Mine didn't show any signs of nesting for well over a year. They always nest outside, in a canary pan close to the roof, while the Gouldians prefer to nest in the shed in huge nest boxes. They never interfere with each others nests and regularly perch right next to each other. Hope that helps. :)
Thanks for the message! The blue-caps have tried to breed on several occasions, building beautiful nests, but it is never successful. They seem really happy though. Although I have bred lots of Gouldians, they don't seem to bred well as a colony - they breed better in smaller groups. The Green Singers (Yellow Fronts) are happy to have a couple of broods every year, despite their grown-up youngsters still being kept with them. They get on surprisingly well, but the flight is fairly large.
Fantasic breeding success all round.Well done! Yes, my green singers also spend 99% of their time outside.They all try to out-sing each other at times, but I agree, it is a lovely thing to hear. The parents carried on breeding for another year, but not this year, which is why I moved the 'babies' elsewhere. The other week I donated 27 Parsons finches (leaving just the main breeding pair) to the wonderful huge public aviary at Bournemouth, so if you're ever there,you'll know where they came from!
The Parsons finches are the brown ones, with silver heads and black throats. The small blue / grey finches are blue-cap waxbills, and the rainbow-coloured ones are Gouldians. The olive green / grey ones are baby Gouldians, not yet moulted into the adult colours. Hope that helps!
In the winter, the Gouldians still go outside, but a bit less. It is draughts and damp they don't like! Is it Gouldians you are interested in? They like dark nestboxes which are quite big, with a step inside by the entrance hole. This allows them to feed the chicks from the side and stops them falling out. The right nestbox is very important with Gouldians. They are challenging birds, but incredibly beautiful.They don't breed terribly well as a colony. I never let them have more than 3 nests
Wow thanks for all the info. That is a massive range of foods. I love the Gouldians and im really surprised that they still go outside in the winter. Really appreciate your response to my questions. Im in dorset , by the way, and have kept lots of aviary birds, but not these and have always loved them. Would love to see more of your aviary :) .
In the winter there were always 5 or 6 Gouldians that wanted to roost outside and I'd have to make them go in at dusk every single night! However, there was a nestbox outside that I forgot about and one sneaky pair managed to nest there over the winter (January to March) and successfully reared a chick, in all that cold weather. It fledged fine and is obviously extremely hardy. I would never have let them nest outside if I'd known! It is important that they have heat, so that they can choose.
My green singers have never once shown any aggression towards a Gouldian, even though the Gouldians also have a patch of yellow colour. Green singers are real outdoor birds and they never roost inside, while the Gouldians love their heated shed! I have nine adult green singers (2 parents, 7 mature babies) all in together, mostly cock birds. They squabble a little and try to out-sing each other. The parents don't seem to mind the company, as they still breed in the flight, in with the Gouldians.
Thanks for your comment! Glad you liked it. Most of the Gouldians are busy nesting at the moment, now the weather is a bit warmer, so its nice to hear the chicks in the nests. :)
Thanks! Are you in the UK? Out of interest, do you give your Gouldians heat in the shed? Yes, the dish (quite shallow) is granite and was bought from a local garden centre. They are for sale in most large garden centres near where I live. I actually bought a tall rectangular pot and turned it upside-down to make a stand. It looks great(quite subtle and modern), but the dish is heavy. I usually let them have a bath for an hour or so and them empty it or refill it, as the water gets dirty quickly.
Fantastic! I notice that you are in the UK, but this looks so much like an outdoor aviary...which surely it isn't, given the climate requirements of these species? The Blue Caps in particular are gorgeous and make me assume you have a heated aviary of some kind. Am I right? I would love to know more about your whole aviary setup actually! Great bath/fountain... Good job!
Thanks for your comments! The bluecaps have recently reared a nest of three, which was great. They stay outside all year, in a fully covered flight with heated shed. Do you keep yours outside? Re. the green singers, no definitely only one pair per flight, they will fight otherwise and can be quite aggressive. They were tolerant of their nests of grown-up babies (8 cock birds would you believe?!) and I kept them all together for a couple of years.
Great news , more videos then :) would love to see your whole aviary and shed with nest boxes if at all possible ? What kind of foods do you have to provide for all these finches to breed and does it differ to when they are not breeding ? Also ,do you have to keep them all locked in shed over winter with heating ?
Hi there, I too have an outdoor aviary with Goulds and a large variety of other finches - I just LOVE them, especially when they are bathing. I've had numerous challenges finding a birdbath which complements the "natural feel" but doesn't pose a problem to keep clean, etc. Right now, I use a small ceramic one which is lightweight, easy to remove when I want to clean it, but it's not very nice. Yours is pretty cool! It looks like custom granite - can you tell me where you got it?
Thanks so much for yr help the other day Martin, yr a real champ. I'm trying to design an automated self cleaning bath with a drain. How do you keep yrs clean ?
Hi again. A self-cleaning bird bath sounds amazing, but I suspect you'd still need to give it a good scrub on a fairly regular basis. I tend to give mine a bath on sunny afternoons - so they dry out quickly and don't get cold :) The water stays quite clean for the rest of the day. When I had Bengalese finches, I found the water got dirty within 5 minutes! I always give them water in large drinkers in my heated shed as well, and they can bath on the sides of them anytime if they need to.
I would love to add a pair of green singers to my Gouldian aviary, but have been discouraged from doing so by charts of finch compatibility. You seem to suggest that given enough space they could be compatible? Or do you still separate the green singers when it comes to breeding the Gouldians?
The Parsons Finch is an Australian grass finch and a close relation to the Hecks. Is it also known as the Black-Throated Finch (Poephila Cincta). They are lovely birds and easy to keep - very bouncy on the perches! I give mine live food and dried insects, as well as a good seed mix. Thanks for watching.
I have recently moved the green singer youngsters (still altogether) to another flight and the parents are keen to breed once more. Bit late this year though! In the flight with just young cock green singers, there is no animosity whatsover. In fact, each night, they all sleep in a tree right next to each other. If there was a hen or two in with them, I think it would be quite different. Hope that helps. Have you been successful with your bluecaps?
REally fine video! I noticed you got a mate of Uraeginthus cyannocephalus (blue headed waxbill? I don't know english names, since I'm italian). Did they breed? Bravo for serinus mozambicus breeding!
+madeline glaser Yes, Gouldians will breed fairly readily, although it is best to only breed from parent-bred birds, rather than Gouldians fostered by Bengalese finches. They will breed best with a surplus of hens, spare nest boxes and just a few pairs. There will always be some birds that seem to need to practice nesting and toss their day-old chicks, while others make excellent parents from day one.
Thanks so much for your comment! Yes, I plan to make another in the spring, once all the Gouldians have finished moulting and are looking lovely. There's quite a big group of Gouldians and Parsons now, all living together very amicably.
You have a made a lovely video of your beautiful birds. But next time, skip the obtrusive music, and let the finches provide that for the viewers--would be much better, don't you think?
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the video. No, I love the music myself! :) I've got some more that you might like to watch, with music as well, but you can also hear the Gouldians in the background this time: Gouldian finches bathing with their friends in an outdoor planted aviary Day in the Life of Gouldian Finches in a Planted Aviary This one without music: Gouldian Finches Eating Mealworms
Thanks so much for your comment Grace! I've recently uploaded a later bathing video, showing the baby Gouldians all grown up now and very colourful. The link is above, or search for "Gouldian finches bathing with their friends in an outdoor planted aviary". Thanks again.
Thanks. I've just uploaded another video from the other day, which shows the baby Gouldians in this video all grown up, with adult plumage now. Search youtube for 'gouldians bathing with friends in planted aviary' to find it. Thanks for your comment!
OMG yr music is HORRIBLE.... its so scary movie type with such BEAUTIFUL finches around. leave it to d natural sound of d chirping finches. i BEG of u pleassssse
![AVIARY FINCH OUTDOOR [Ckene] Volijera egzote](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hQ0GGIaywag/mqdefault.jpg)
I have no words...simply BEAUTIFUL!!!
I have an aviary too with some plants and with a little river inside...it's truly fantastic too see them having bath inside, it's almost like see them in nature!
What a great passion...
Thanx for the video! ;-)
Yes, this is an outdoor aviary in the UK. The flight is completely covered in thick, clear plastic and so is relatively draught free. The attached shed is extremely well insulated and heated to around 20C, so the birds have the option of going into the warm, or outside. Gouldians and blue-caps do both experience frosts in the wild and are hardier than many people think, but I would never keep them without heat in the winter. I feed my birds just before dusk, so that they sleep in the shed.
Thanks Mia,
I really enjoyed viewing this and will send it to my sister who loves finches and bred them when she lived in Melbourne...I will also send it to Carol who of course loves all wildlife.Deb
When they aren't breeding, it is more seed and less of the veg and eggfood. I live in the UK and they stay outside all year. The flight is always covered in clear plastic, so relatively draught free. When it is summer and sunny, the flight quickly warms up to around 30C, which is fine for Gouldians and waxbills, and rarely drops below 0C in the winter. The shed is well insulated with an oil radiator, set to a min of 20C.
It is also worth noting that green singers can take ages to feel comfortable enough to breed. Mine didn't show any signs of nesting for well over a year. They always nest outside, in a canary pan close to the roof, while the Gouldians prefer to nest in the shed in huge nest boxes. They never interfere with each others nests and regularly perch right next to each other. Hope that helps. :)
Beautiful Nia. The birds certainly enjoy their bath!! Thanks for sharing with us.
Thanks for the message! The blue-caps have tried to breed on several occasions, building beautiful nests, but it is never successful. They seem really happy though. Although I have bred lots of Gouldians, they don't seem to bred well as a colony - they breed better in smaller groups. The Green Singers (Yellow Fronts) are happy to have a couple of broods every year, despite their grown-up youngsters still being kept with them. They get on surprisingly well, but the flight is fairly large.
Fantasic breeding success all round.Well done! Yes, my green singers also spend 99% of their time outside.They all try to out-sing each other at times, but I agree, it is a lovely thing to hear. The parents carried on breeding for another year, but not this year, which is why I moved the 'babies' elsewhere. The other week I donated 27 Parsons finches (leaving just the main breeding pair) to the wonderful huge public aviary at Bournemouth, so if you're ever there,you'll know where they came from!
The Parsons finches are the brown ones, with silver heads and black throats. The small blue / grey finches are blue-cap waxbills, and the rainbow-coloured ones are Gouldians. The olive green / grey ones are baby Gouldians, not yet moulted into the adult colours. Hope that helps!
In the winter, the Gouldians still go outside, but a bit less. It is draughts and damp they don't like! Is it Gouldians you are interested in? They like dark nestboxes which are quite big, with a step inside by the entrance hole. This allows them to feed the chicks from the side and stops them falling out. The right nestbox is very important with Gouldians. They are challenging birds, but incredibly beautiful.They don't breed terribly well as a colony. I never let them have more than 3 nests
Thanks for the quick reply The small blue / grey finches are blue-cap waxbills is a beautiful bird
Wow thanks for all the info. That is a massive range of foods. I love the Gouldians and im really surprised that they still go outside in the winter. Really appreciate your response to my questions. Im in dorset , by the way, and have kept lots of aviary birds, but not these and have always loved them. Would love to see more of your aviary :) .
They are such tiny and beautiful birds. If there is a god..Iwould thank him for lives as unthreatening and wonderful
In the winter there were always 5 or 6 Gouldians that wanted to roost outside and I'd have to make them go in at dusk every single night! However, there was a nestbox outside that I forgot about and one sneaky pair managed to nest there over the winter (January to March) and successfully reared a chick, in all that cold weather. It fledged fine and is obviously extremely hardy. I would never have let them nest outside if I'd known! It is important that they have heat, so that they can choose.
You just made my day...this video was so inspiring and beautiful. Thank you!
This is my all time favorite video!
I absolutely love this video!
Wow, beautiful birds!
Thanks so much! Check out the new video of my birds that I've just uploaded: Day in the Life of Gouldian Finches in a Planted Aviary
Really lovely video, im now going to check out your updated one. Welldone :)
My green singers have never once shown any aggression towards a Gouldian, even though the Gouldians also have a patch of yellow colour. Green singers are real outdoor birds and they never roost inside, while the Gouldians love their heated shed! I have nine adult green singers (2 parents, 7 mature babies) all in together, mostly cock birds. They squabble a little and try to out-sing each other. The parents don't seem to mind the company, as they still breed in the flight, in with the Gouldians.
I like your video, beautiful birds.
Thanks for your comment! Glad you liked it. Most of the Gouldians are busy nesting at the moment, now the weather is a bit warmer, so its nice to hear the chicks in the nests. :)
Thank you so much for uploading this..
Such a lovely video. Thanks.
Thanks! Are you in the UK? Out of interest, do you give your Gouldians heat in the shed? Yes, the dish (quite shallow) is granite and was bought from a local garden centre. They are for sale in most large garden centres near where I live. I actually bought a tall rectangular pot and turned it upside-down to make a stand. It looks great(quite subtle and modern), but the dish is heavy. I usually let them have a bath for an hour or so and them empty it or refill it, as the water gets dirty quickly.
Fantastic! I notice that you are in the UK, but this looks so much like an outdoor aviary...which surely it isn't, given the climate requirements of these species? The Blue Caps in particular are gorgeous and make me assume you have a heated aviary of some kind. Am I right? I would love to know more about your whole aviary setup actually! Great bath/fountain... Good job!
The song is Sigur Ross - Hoppipolla. :)
Me alegro el alma este video. Que piscina tan concurrida.
Thanks for your comments! The bluecaps have recently reared a nest of three, which was great. They stay outside all year, in a fully covered flight with heated shed. Do you keep yours outside? Re. the green singers, no definitely only one pair per flight, they will fight otherwise and can be quite aggressive. They were tolerant of their nests of grown-up babies (8 cock birds would you believe?!) and I kept them all together for a couple of years.
Great news , more videos then :) would love to see your whole aviary and shed with nest boxes if at all possible ? What kind of foods do you have to provide for all these finches to breed and does it differ to when they are not breeding ? Also ,do you have to keep them all locked in shed over winter with heating ?
good choice in music, its almost like the birds were bobbing to the music.
is the blue/green finch the Parsons Finch??
Hi there, I too have an outdoor aviary with Goulds and a large variety of other finches - I just LOVE them, especially when they are bathing.
I've had numerous challenges finding a birdbath which complements the "natural feel" but doesn't pose a problem to keep clean, etc. Right now, I use a small ceramic one which is lightweight, easy to remove when I want to clean it, but it's not very nice. Yours is pretty cool! It looks like custom granite - can you tell me where you got it?
Thanks so much for yr help the other day Martin, yr a real champ. I'm trying to design an automated self cleaning bath with a drain. How do you keep yrs clean ?
Hi again. A self-cleaning bird bath sounds amazing, but I suspect you'd still need to give it a good scrub on a fairly regular basis. I tend to give mine a bath on sunny afternoons - so they dry out quickly and don't get cold :) The water stays quite clean for the rest of the day. When I had Bengalese finches, I found the water got dirty within 5 minutes! I always give them water in large drinkers in my heated shed as well, and they can bath on the sides of them anytime if they need to.
I would love to add a pair of green singers to my Gouldian aviary, but have been discouraged from doing so by charts of finch compatibility. You seem to suggest that given enough space they could be compatible? Or do you still separate the green singers when it comes to breeding the Gouldians?
The Parsons Finch is an Australian grass finch and a close relation to the Hecks. Is it also known as the Black-Throated Finch (Poephila Cincta). They are lovely birds and easy to keep - very bouncy on the perches! I give mine live food and dried insects, as well as a good seed mix. Thanks for watching.
Thank you very much for the reply. I love your video and music. Who sang this song? Title?
que bello video!
I have recently moved the green singer youngsters (still altogether) to another flight and the parents are keen to breed once more. Bit late this year though! In the flight with just young cock green singers, there is no animosity whatsover. In fact, each night, they all sleep in a tree right next to each other. If there was a hen or two in with them, I think it would be quite different. Hope that helps. Have you been successful with your bluecaps?
REally fine video! I noticed you got a mate of Uraeginthus cyannocephalus (blue headed waxbill? I don't know english names, since I'm italian). Did they breed? Bravo for serinus mozambicus breeding!
muito lindo, gostei imenso
COISA MAIS LINDA DO MUNDO !!!!
Hope that helps!
Do these beautiful little guys breed? I'm thinking of starting a finch aviary myself....
+madeline glaser Yes, Gouldians will breed fairly readily, although it is best to only breed from parent-bred birds, rather than Gouldians fostered by Bengalese finches. They will breed best with a surplus of hens, spare nest boxes and just a few pairs. There will always be some birds that seem to need to practice nesting and toss their day-old chicks, while others make excellent parents from day one.
Martin Treasure Ok thanks! Does this apply to the other finches too?
Thanks so much for your comment! Yes, I plan to make another in the spring, once all the Gouldians have finished moulting and are looking lovely. There's quite a big group of Gouldians and Parsons now, all living together very amicably.
lindos demais
What is the full name of parson species?
You have a made a lovely video of your beautiful birds. But next time, skip the obtrusive music, and let the finches provide that for the viewers--would be much better, don't you think?
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed the video. No, I love the music myself! :) I've got some more that you might like to watch, with music as well, but you can also hear the Gouldians in the background this time:
Gouldian finches bathing with their friends in an outdoor planted aviary
Day in the Life of Gouldian Finches in a Planted Aviary
This one without music:
Gouldian Finches Eating Mealworms
Thanks so much for your comment Grace! I've recently uploaded a later bathing video, showing the baby Gouldians all grown up now and very colourful. The link is above, or search for
"Gouldian finches bathing with their friends in an outdoor planted aviary". Thanks again.
Thanks. I've just uploaded another video from the other day, which shows the baby Gouldians in this video all grown up, with adult plumage now. Search youtube for 'gouldians bathing with friends in planted aviary' to find it. Thanks for your comment!
nice birds but you destroyed this video with the cheesey music. should have just left the audio running so we could hear the birds.
OMG yr music is HORRIBLE.... its so scary movie type with such BEAUTIFUL finches around. leave it to d natural sound of d chirping finches. i BEG of u pleassssse