Biology & Husbandry ofWhydahs & Combassous

Abstract

The word "finch" is a catchall phrase that includes birds belonging to several unrelated families whose members have conical bills and tend to forage on seeds as their main food item. The Cardueline Finches include species such as Linnets, Goldfinches and Canaries, who build open cup nests. The Emberizid Finches include some 279 species, and contain a diverse assortment of small songbirds ranging from 50+ gram Saltators to tiny 8 gram Seedeaters and Grassquits. The Weaver Finches belong to the family Ploceidae and actually weave nests using special stitches and knots. The Estrildid Finches (Estrildidae) include the Waxbills, Mannikins and Australian Grassfinches. They build domed-over nests that are "thatched" like the roof of a grass cottage.

Because of their beauty and usually easy maintenance, Estrildid Finches have been popular subjects of aviculture and a good number of species are well established in the hobby. Some of the other finch groups, notably the viduines, have been relatively neglected by aviculturists. In this essay I bring together some of the literature on this finch group which are not readily accessible to the average aviculturist.

Introduction to the Viduine Finches

One subfamily of the weaver finches, The Viduinae or viduines in the anglicized version, include the Whydahs and Combassous who are brood parasites. Like the European Cuckoo or North American Brownheaded Cowbird, viduines do not build nests but instead lay their eggs in nests of estrildid finches and depend on the latter to raise their young. With the exception of the Pintail Whydah (Vidua macroura) who lays its eggs in nests of several Waxbill (Estrilda) species, each viduine species lays its eggs in nests of only one host finch species.