Abstract
My initial success was with a pair of Orange-cheeked Waxbills (Estrilda melpoda) that bred for the first time in 1994 [see Watchbird article in May/June 1995 issue]. Since that time I have had success with other pairs.
The unusually short brooding period that was observed in the first pair was confirmed in all of the others that bred. Nearly all of them ceased to cover their young at night only three days after hatching. A hen who attempted to brood five day old young was actually driven off the nest by her mate. The reasons for this are unclear but perhaps Orange-cheeked nests in the wild are vulnerable to predators that attack them at night. Since they nest on or near the ground, the number of potential enemies in the African savannah would be quite large. The young never suffered any ill effects and seemed able to keep themselves warm. However, if the adults are nesting in an outdoor aviary and the weather becomes cool and wet, the young will not survive.
Orange-cheeked nestlings grow very rapidly during the first week but tend to slack off after that. The need for large quantities of livefood is critical at first but a lot less is fed as the young approach fledging age. My Orange-cheeks accept a wide variety of livefood without showing much of a preference for any particular type. I always offer a variety, including small mealworms, whiteworms, fly larvae, and waxworms.
I found Orange-cheeked nestlings difficult to foster under Society finches. Most Societies will hatch the eggs, but raising the young is a different matter. The problem seems to be that the young Orange-cheeks are so very tiny that the Society Finches fail to respond to them and they starve. I have never had any success with fostering Orange-cheeks.
Orange-cheeked Waxbills are notoriously light sitters and will often leave their eggs at the slightest disturbance. I had a hen who appeared to abandon her clutch after 11 or 12 days. After that time I never saw her in or near the nest again. Finally, early one morning about three days later, I decided to check the nest. The adults seemed completely unconcerned and were enjoying their treats. Expecting to find only cold, long deserted eggs, you can imagine how shocked I was to find
three newly hatched nestlings and one egg actually in the process of hatching! I was lucky that the adults did not abandon them and that they were successfully reared.
Most of my Orange-cheeked pairs construct their own nests on the cage bottom rather than utilizing any sort of box or basket. The nests are pear shaped with the entrance being scarcely if at all visible. Most of my pairs are rather timid with their first nest of the season but tend to calm down with subsequent nestings. Fertility tends to be high with most eggs hatching.
Orange-cheeked Waxbills cannot be visually sexed. Many older books state that males have larger and more brightly colored orange cheek patches but this is definitely not true. The extent and depth of the orange coloring depends on many factors including age, nutritional status, and general health of the bird. Wild caught birds are said to fade after any length of time in captivity but I have not really noticed this tendency to any great degree. Males are very obvious as they come into breeding condition, when they perform their amusing courtship dance and sing their high pitched song.
Orange-cheeks are highly selective in their choice of mates. Pairs that are arbitrarily placed together will appear to get along but may not breed. Same-sex pairs form fairly frequently and I've had this happen with both males and females. I even had a male Orangecheeked bird pair off with a Red-eared Waxbill despite the presence of other members of his own species.
For best results Orange-cheeks should be allowed to pair off naturally. Non-breeding birds that are kept together form a very rigid pecking order. The dominant position is often shared by two males who are usually brothers and who act as a pair. They preen each other frequently and clump together at night. The integrity of mated pairs is usually respected by the dominant birds but if a bird is removed for any length of time and then returned, it will have to work its way back into the pecking order of the group.
. Orange-cheeks are generally peaceful in mixed flights except when they are....
References
Bates, Henry. Finches and Soft Billed Birds.
Jersey City. NJ T.F.H. 1963.
Bruce. Hal. "Breeding Small Finches." American Cage Bird Magazine v. 25 n. 10 October 1963 pp. 20-21.
Clement, Peter. Finches and Sparrows. an identification guide. Princeton. NJ Princeton University Press. 199:1.
Goodwin, Derek. Estrildid Finches of the World London: British Museum. 1982
lmmelmann, Klaus. Prachtfinken, Aachen.
Germany: Limberg, 19651977.
Raffaele, Herbert A. A guide lo the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press, 1989
Smith, David. "Second Generation Waxbill Hybrids." American Cage Bird Magazine. v. 45 n. 2 February 1973 pp. 23-24.
Woolham, Frank. "Orange Cheeked Waxbills."
American Cage Bird Magazine. v. 66 n.2 February 1994. p 34. "