Masked Finch
Poephila personata
There is also a sub specie of Masked Finch called the white eared Masked Finch.
Masked finch natural Distribution and Habitat
Native to northern Australia and parts of the cape york peninsular. The Masked finch inhabits open grass land surrounded by eucalyptus trees.
Diet for Masked Finches
Seed– Always feed your masked finches a good quality seed mix especially for breeding. Some supermarket seed is of a low quality, if you are unsure of the seed you are using ask your local bird specialist. Sprouted seed– Always wash thoroughly with aviclens befor serving it to your birds. Milletsprays– Relished by finches french white is the best of the different typed for Masked finches Greens– Very important for the health of these finches which include seeding grass, dandelion, milk thistle, Broccoli, chickweed, silver beet, endive, and lebanese cucumber. Live food– Mealworms, fly pupae served in wombaroo insectivore mix Egg and biscuit formula– This can be served with the live food listed above. Grit– Be sure to use a proper finch grit with baked egg shells, lime stone, crushed shells, crushed cuttlebone and charcoal. Vitamin supplement-There is many good vitamins for birds available in Australia. An important addition to the vitality of finches, add to the water supply all instructions will be on the container. Vitamins added to seed are wasted as finches hull the seed befor they consume it.
Breeding Masked Finches
Masked finches will breed from march to june, they will also sometimes breed in early summer. These birds will often nest low to the ground of varying hight’s in wicker nests or nest boxes be sure to supply your birds with swamp grass and some courser grass for nest construction. Be sure to supply white feathers for the masked finches to line the nest with. These birds will also use charcoal asa part of the lining inside the nest. Masked finches usually lay around 6 white eggs with an incubation period of 14 days. Both parents will share in incubating the eggs. The young will begin to venture outside the nest in approximately 4 weeks from hatching. The Parent birds will continue to feed the young for a further 4 weeks as they learn to crack seed.
Sexing Masked Finches
As these birds are not sexually dimorphic they are very difficult to sex. One way is sexing these birds is by the size of the mask on the face but this is not very reliable as some hens can have a large mask and males have a small mask. Some people believe the male has a larger mask, Another way is the black part on the side of the tail base is longer on the male. Found in store, for more details call Birdsville 9667 2555. More information coming soon.
