Abstract
This delightful winged jewel originates from New Guinea, Moluccas, Solomon Islandand north-east Australia. It inhabits forest edges and grassland, cultivated areas and pastures and can be seen in small flocks of 30 or more birds and, at times, even larger numbers when there is a good feeding area.
The male is essentially a multi-shad- ed (light yellow-green to dark bluegreen) green finch with deep blue on the forehead and face. The tail is red to rusty red brown and the bill is black and stout. The male is about 5 inches in length (13 cm.).
The females are similar, but tend to have less of the vibrant blue on the face and appear slightly smaller and with a bit of a rounder head. The male is very distinguishable by its singing of a trilling song. It was much easier to sex the wild caught birds than it is today's domestically bred birds. I am not certain what their diet lacks that causes some of the birds to fade and not have the vibrant blue of their wild counterparts.
Housing
I prefer to see the birds housed in flights for many reasons. One of the most basic reasons is that they enjoy flying and they love to bathe (a lotl) and splash about. They also enjoy sunbathing. When they are not flying, eating, or bathing, they become a bit more difficult to see in a planted flight, but I believe the rewards are happier and healthier birds.
I recommend that cage breeders let the birds go back together in a large flight pen during the non-breeding season. They can recondition themselves with good food, exercise, and lot of bathing.
In fact, you can leave this species in a flight to breed with no problem. I have included them in a mixed collection of finches (Lady Gouldians, Cordon Blues, Strawberries, Indian Silver Bills, and others) and they were peaceful and did well. The only aggression I noted was when the offspring were left more than three months with the parents and the male bird seemed to become aggressive to the young. Because of this, I highly recommend removing the young from the parents shortly after they are eating on their own (approximately 25 days after fledging). Doing this also encourages the parent to go back to nest.
Of course these birds can be bred in a cage. I know other breeders who have been successful at cage breeding, but again, I would encourage housing them in a large flight if at all possible.
Feeding
In the wild they enjoy feeding on grass seeds and small insects as well as seed...