How to Care for Green Singing Finches

Written by the Birdsville team. Last updated October 2026.

Green singing finch care comes down to a quality finch seed mix, fresh greens and fruit, egg and biscuit, and a quiet, well set up aviary for breeding. The green singing finch, also called the green singer or yellow-fronted canary, is a cheerful little African finch, and the males are famous for their lovely song. This guide covers how to care for green singing finches, from diet and breeding to housing and health, with a full shopping list of the supplies we recommend, delivered Australia-wide by Petsville.

Male green singing finch at Birdsville with bright yellow underparts and bold face markings — A male green singer at Birdsville. Only the males sing.

Green Singing Finch Quick Facts

Scientific name: Crithagra mozambica (formerly Serinus mozambicus)
Also known as: Green Singer, Yellow-fronted Canary
Native range: most of sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Ethiopia south to South Africa
Adult length: around 11 to 13 cm
Lifespan: can live 10 years or more with good care
Diet: finch seed mix, greens, fruit, egg and biscuit, live food
Housing: one pair per aviary
Breeding season: March to November
Clutch: around 3 softly spotted eggs, incubated for about 13 days
Sexing: hens have a spotted “necklace”, males don’t
Song: males sing
Experience level: beginner to intermediate

Green Singing Finch Shopping List

Everything in this guide is available from Petsville, which delivers Australia-wide, or in-store at Birdsville in Sydney.

Live food, maw seed and canary nests are available in-store at Birdsville.

Wild green singing finches photographed in northern Kenya by Birdsville owner Ash — Wild green singing finches, photographed by Ash on a field trip to northern Kenya in 2013.

Green Singing Finches in the Wild

Green singing finches are native to Africa, where they’re found across most of the continent south of the Sahara, including Senegal, Ethiopia and Kenya, and down to South Africa. They live in woodland and savannah, and they’ve adapted well to farms and gardens.

Ash’s Sighting in Kenya

Birdsville owner Ash was lucky enough to see green singing finches in the wild on a field trip to northern Kenya in February 2013, early one morning, which made his day. The birds were in a cultivated area, and it seems they’ve adapted well to living alongside people. The photo below is one Ash took of those wild green singers. He’s proud of it, because it’s the only time he’s ever seen them in the wild.

Green singing finch perched at Birdsville — A green singing finch at Birdsville, also known as the yellow-fronted canary.

Housing and Warmth

Green singers need a long cage or aviary with room to fly. Keep one pair per aviary, with perches of different thicknesses, a shallow bath, and separate dishes for seed, grit, live food and water.

Seasonal tip: Green singing finches come from warm parts of Africa, so keep them out of draughts and damp in winter, and shelter outdoor aviaries from cold southerly winds. In summer, give them shade all day, a bath, and Vetafarm Spark Liquid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-spark-liquid-50ml) in the water on very hot days.

Fresh clover, a healthy green for green singing finches — lover is a great occasional green singer food.

Green Singing Finch Diet

Green singers need a quality finch seed mix, greens, fruit, egg and biscuit, live food, grit, vitamins and fresh water every day.

Seed

A good quality finch mix is essential for green singers. On a low grade seed, you’ll see their health and feathers slowly decline over time. Our top pick is Birdsville Blends Finch & Canary (https://petsville.com.au/products/birdsville-blends-finch-canary-500g), our biggest selling finch blend. It’s bagged fresh on site with a high turnover, so the seed never sits on a shelf, and buying from the people who mix it means better value. Be wary of many supermarket and chain store mixes, which use low quality grains and filler seed. If you’re unsure about your seed, ask a bird specialist.

Green singers also enjoy niger seed, maw (poppy) seed and a few sunflower kernels. Niger is very hard to get in Australia at the moment, so we’re not selling it on its own, but it’s blended into Birdsville Blends Finch & Canary. Maw seed is available in-store.

Sprouted Seed

Loved by all finches. Wash it thoroughly with Vetafarm Aviclens (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-aviclens-water-cleanser-100ml) before feeding to remove bacteria.

Millet Sprays

Green singers relish millet sprays, and they’ll take panicum or French white. Buy them on Petsville (https://petsville.com.au/products/millet-sprays-mixed-100g).

Fruit

Apple, fig and pear.

Greens

Greens are essential for green singers. Offer seeding grasses, dandelion, clover, chickweed, silverbeet, spinach and endive. Clover is a great green singer food.

Live Food

Green singers eat mealworms, gentles (fly larvae) and fly pupae, and live food is especially important in the breeding season. Feed it with a few pinches of insectivore mix, such as Insectivore Rearing Mix (https://petsville.com.au/products/wombaroo-insectivore-rearing-mix-250g) or Vetafarm Insecta-Pro (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-insecta-pro-450g), along with egg and biscuit. Live food is available in-store at Birdsville.

Egg and Biscuit

Loved by green singers, and especially important when they’re breeding. It can be fed dry or mixed with water. Try Shep’s Egg & Biscuit (https://petsville.com.au/products/sheps-egg-biscuit-500g).

Vitamins

An important addition for green singers. Add a supplement such as Vetafarm Multivet (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-multivet-50ml) to the water, because vitamins on seed are lost when finches remove the husk.

Grit

Use a good quality grit mix with baked egg shell, crushed cuttlebone, shell, charcoal and limestone, such as shell grit (https://petsville.com.au/products/shell-grit-5kg), in its own dish.

Female green singing finch at Birdsville showing the spotted necklace on her throat — A hen green singer at Birdsville. Look for the spotted “necklace” around her throat.

Breeding Green Singing Finches

Green singers breed from about March through to November. They nest in canary nests, wicker cane nests and half open nest boxes, placed high in the aviary. You must supply nesting material, such as swamp grass, coconut fibre, cotton wool, white feathers and seeding grass stems (https://petsville.com.au/collections/bird-subsrate).

The hen lays around 3 softly spotted eggs, which hatch after about 13 days. The cock feeds the hen while she sits on the eggs. The young leave the nest at around 3 weeks old, and the parents keep feeding them for about another 3 weeks while they learn to crack seed. Feed plenty of egg and biscuit and live food throughout. Vetafarm Breeding Aid (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-breeding-aid-100ml) on the seed also helps support fertility and chick growth.

two female green singing finches. — Green singing finch female or hen evident by the necklace pattern on the neck.

Sexing Green Singing Finches

Young birds are difficult to sex, but adults are easy. The hen has a band of dark spots around her throat that looks like a necklace, which the male doesn’t have. Males are also brighter yellow, with bolder face markings, and only the males sing.

Health and Parasite Control

Watch for fluffed up feathers, sitting still and inactive, a dirty vent, or a thin chest where the keel bone sticks out. A sick finch can go downhill within hours. Move it to a small, warm cage straight away, add Spark Liquid to its water, and see an avian vet. For more on finch health, see our Finch Care page [Finch Care page link].

Worm your green singers every 3 months if they live outdoors, or every 6 months indoors, using Vetafarm Wormout Gel (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-wormout-gel-50ml). Spray birds, nests and the aviary with Avitrol Mite & Lice Spray (https://petsville.com.au/products/fidos-avitrol-bird-mite-and-lice-spray-125ml) every 3 months, avoiding the eyes. Keep new birds separate for 4 to 6 weeks before introducing them, and give them Spark Liquid in their water for the first few days after a move.

Cleaning

Daily: fresh water and seed in clean dishes, blow husks off the seed, and remove old live food, fruit and greens.
Weekly: clean the cage or aviary thoroughly.
Monthly: disinfect with Vetafarm Avicare (https://petsville.com.au/products/vetafarm-avicare-rtu-500ml), clean or replace branches, and clean out nests after the young have left.

Compatibility with Other Birds

Green singers can be territorial, especially males in the breeding season, so keep just one pair per aviary. They generally get along with other similar sized finches that aren’t closely related, but they may bully small, timid species, other singers and canaries. For more on mixing birds, see our Mixing Different Species of Bird page (https://birdsville.net.au/pet-bird-advice-and-training/mixing-different-species-of-bird/).

Green singing finch n a beautiful aviary — Green singing finch in one of our breeders aviary set up.

Green Singing Finch Frequently Asked Questions

What do green singing finches eat?

A quality finch seed mix such as Birdsville Blends Finch & Canary, plus niger, maw and a few sunflower kernels, sprouted seed, millet sprays, greens and some fruit, like apple, fig and pear. Add egg and biscuit and live food, especially when breeding, plus fine grit, vitamins in the water and fresh water.

How do you tell a male green singing finch from a female?

Adult green singers are easy to sex. The hen has a band of dark spots around her throat that looks like a necklace, which the male doesn’t have. Males are also brighter yellow, with bolder face markings, and only the males sing. Young birds are much harder to sex.

Is a green singing finch the same as a yellow-fronted canary?

Yes. The green singing finch and the yellow-fronted canary are two names for the same bird, Crithagra mozambica. Green singing finch, or green singer, is the name most Australian keepers use, while yellow-fronted canary is more common overseas.

Do green singing finches sing?

Yes, the males are lovely singers, which is how the bird got its name. Males sing a bright, cheerful song for much of the year, especially in the breeding season. Hens don’t sing, so if you want song, make sure you have a male.

Can green singing finches live with other finches?

When do green singing finches breed?

In Australia, green singing finches breed from around March through to November. The hen nests high in a canary nest, wicker nest or half open box, and lays around 3 softly spotted eggs. The male feeds her while she sits on them for about 13 days.

Green Singing Finches and Supplies at Birdsville

We sometimes have green singing finches in stock at Birdsville, 684 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, servicing the Eastern Suburbs and Inner South Sydney. Call (02) 9669 1766, or check our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BirdsvilleRosebery/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/petsvillesydney/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@birdsvillepets) to see what’s in. Every product in this guide is available online from Petsville, delivered Australia-wide, or in-store. Live food, maw seed and canary nests are available in-store. Our team will help you set up the right home and diet for your birds.

About Birdsville

Birdsville has been trading in Sydney since 1985, and we believe we’re now the oldest bricks and mortar bird shop still open in Australia. Owner Ash brings experience from vet clinics and from zoo keeping at the Rainforest Habitat in Port Douglas, now Wildlife Habitat. We’re a small business that does things in a big way. Nobody tells us how to run things, so we keep our products the best of the best.