Abstract
The striking Gouldian Finch iChloebio gouldiaei, which the Australian finch authority. Klaus lmmelmann. called "the most beautiful and most interesting [of the group I" iAustralion Finches in Bush and Aviary, 1965). is likely also the most controversial finch from that country in American aviculture. For one reason or another. fanciers have such different experiences with the bird that. regrettably I feel. some finch enthusiasts have been reluctant to try their hands at this beauty.
What I propose to do here is not to repeat what has already been written about the Lady Gould. but instead to limit my points in an attempt to reconcile some of the important contradictory notions on this finch and also to share with the reader a number of my own observations based on extensive experience with Goulds. While no two Gould breeders will have identical experiences, there are factors, I think. that account for the apparent confusions and lack of agreement among breeders. I am just as convinced that regardless of such variables as stock, locale, housing. feeding, temperature, and the like - one can determine and count on certain general patterns of behavior. While the Lady Gould is more of a challenge than the Zebra or the Society, I would stress that even the novice breeder, following the best available advice, can breed this finch successfully and consistently. There will be disappointments, as there are in breeding any bird, but I could draw up a list of beginning breeders whose success has easily outweighed their failures.
The fancier new to the Gould is often unclear as to what to expect when pairing two birds of different head colors. Most people have initial experiences with either the red-headed or the black-headed variety, the two most common color types. It is often incorrectly assumed that if you breed a red-headed bird to a black-headed one, the offspring won't be "pure," distinctly one or the other. This assumption is sometimes based no doubt on the fact that a minority of red hens actually show more black facial coloring than red, even though genetically they are pure reds. (The redheaded males show no such variation is the amount of red in the head.) The reds and the blacks, are, then. always separate types and breed true. Redheadedness is sex-linked and dominant to the black. Thus, a red-headed female is always a pure red, whereas a red-headed male can be pure red (with two factors for redheadedness) or else split-to-black (one factor for red, one for black) - this latter single factor occurs when either parent is a blackheaded bird. On average these arc the offspring expectations for the various pamngs:
1. Black x black = all black offspring.
2. Red x red= all red.
3. Red (pure) male x black female = 50 percent red males split-to-black: 50 percent red females.
4. Black male x red female = 50 percent red males split-to-black: 50 percent black females.
5. Red (split-to-black) male x red female = 25 percent black females: the rest, reds.
6. Red (split-to-black) male x black female = 25 percent of each: red males, black males, red females, black females.
A less common coloration is the socalled yellow-headed variety; the head color is actually a light orange, not at all the bright yellow of the belly area. Genetically this yellow bird is either a red-headed or a black-headed specimen that is unable to convert the yellow carotinoids into red ones. Since this trait is recessive, both birds of a pair must carry the factor in order for it to show up in the offspring. Whether or not the "yellow" color is overt, or hidden in a split bird, depends of course on parentage.
Two similary recessive mutations that are more recent on the American finch scene are the stunning white-breasted and the blue-breasted Goulds. In the whitebreasted bird all of the normal remain the same, except for the breast, which is a striking snow white instead of the usual purple. Personally I prefer the white breast in combination with the black head, but since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, others prefer the combination of white breast and red head. In both types, the white of the breast tones down the bird, that to the taste of some beholders is a bit too garish or royal in coloration, especially in the vivid red and purple combination. The same might be said of the more recent blue-breasted mutation. The blue (a deep powder blue) and red pattern is quite pleasant; changes in this variety also include a gray rump area, with no blue or green feathers, and a chartreuse suffusion extending down the back of the head. Otherwise, in any head color variety, the colors elsewhere remain those of the normal bird.
The white-breasted Gould has been bred in England for some years now; the bird took its good time "migrating" to our shores. The British breed a white-breasted (of either sex; remember, it's recessive) to a split bird, to yield 50 percent whites and 50 percent splits. Evidently, even though a lot of outcrossing has strengthened this mutation, white to white produces a smaller, less vigorous bird. I have not tried white to white, though the offspring ofmy white to split pairings have been large, strong birds. The blue-breasted mutation cropped up several years ago in this country and a few breeders are currently at work establishing it. Other mutations, such as lutino, albino, blue-backed, etc., have appeared in Australia and elsewhere, but these seem to hold less interest for breeders or else have not been firmly established.