Abstract
This beautiful, slender bird from the dry scrubland of central east Africa measures approximately five and one quarter inches in length including its long tail.
The adult male is a reddish brown with a rich, glossy blue on the chest, belly and base of tail. A similar blue forms a rather wide eye-ring. His beak is a deep coral red. The female is a lighter brown, without the reddish tones. Her chest and belly are a mass of off-white spots which, at times, forms irregular lines. Her eye-ring is most commonly a pale mauve or blue, but can vary from almost white to a blue almost as dark as in the male. (When I first noticed that one of my females had a much darker eyering than the others, I assumed it might have something to do with the length of time the bird had been in captivity, and that the darker coloring would fade in time, as has been seen in other species. I also assumed that this deeper color would probably not be passed on to successive generations. However, according to Derek Goodwin in Estrildid Finches of the World, the darker coloring could be an indication that the bird is of a different subspecies. Certainly her eye-ring has not faded and many of the offspring have darker than average eye-rings, but none so far exhibit color as deep as hers.) The female's beak is a pale red. As she reaches full maturity and breeding readiness, a dark, almost black band appears down the length of the upper mandible.
Fledglings are entirely brown, except for some purplish blue at the base of the tail. I have observed some slight differences in the shade of brown among my babies, which, according to Derek Goodwin, indicates gender. I have not tried to confirm or deny this, however, since the sex of the youngster becomes obvious when, at around six weeks of age, a partial molt produces the colored eye-ring. At around four months of age a more complete molt results in the adult coloring, though the male, in particular, displays a richer, more beautiful plumage after the second full molt. This may be purely my imagination but it seems as if both male and female display richer colors with each successive molt.
The newly hatched chicks are almost black in color, naked except for a few tiny tufts of down and have deep blue and white gape tubercles. They start out in life surprisingly small considering the size of the adults, but they grow quickly and usually fledge at around two and a half weeks. I have, on occasion, been surprised to see them out of the nest as early as two weeks. I usually separate chicks from adults at around six weeks of age, making sure before moving them that they are, in fact, independent.
These birds, which were supposed to be so difficult to raise, have turned out to be some of the most prolific breeders with which I have worked. I don't know why I have had such great success - I don't have any special secrets or knowledge. I can't, therefore, furnish a recipe for successful breeding of Purple Grenadiers. The following is nothing more than a guide based on what I do, what I have observed, and a whole lot of guesswork!
By the time I bought my first pair of Grenadiers, I had been working with birds, predominantly finches, for a number of years. I suppose I had become brainwashed because I was inclined to believe the experts when they said' 'you can't do that" in reference to breeding exotic finches. True to form, I was told Purple Grenadiers wouldn't breed for me and they certainly wouldn't breed in cages. I wasn't concerned about breeding them at that time, I just thought they would be nice to have.
Doubting that I could keep them alive in an outside aviary, I put the pair in a converted closet measuring 2' X 6' X 8'. (I later realized that Grenadiers, like many other finches, are not as fragile as we sometimes think. In winter, the temperature in our enclosed aviary normally does not drop below 50°F, but even though it has, on rare occasions, dipped as low as 40°F, these are not consistent "Iows". Clearly they can endure much lower temperatures than are normally recommended, though they are obviously more comfortable when kept in warmer temperatures.) Their new home was sparsely furnished, containing nothing but a variety of nests and a few pieces of tumble weed, a wire contraption full of straw and a manzanita branch standing on end to form a tree. Since there was very little natural light, the fluorescent light fixtures were fitted with full spectrum bulbs. All the feeders were on the floor, as was the bowl of water (I do not use tube drinkers for any of my...