A Quick Guide to Different Types of Finches
There are several types of finches; the word finch refers to a type of bird that has a short beak. There are finches that are domesticated pets, but there are also hundreds of breeds that live in the wild. This type of bird can be found all over the world.
Birds that are considered to be finches are often fairly small, they will average anywhere from about 3-inches long to approximately 8-inches long. They come in a variety of colors species. The most common finch that you will encounter as pets belong to the fringillidae family.
There are a few different reasons why these types of finches are so popular as pets. For one they tend to be a lot quieter than some bird species, plus they are basically an independent type bird that doesn’t need others of their own species, but they also don’t mind too much if there is more than one of them. Finches can also adapt to living in a smaller area without many problems. These birds also don’t mind interacting with humans, though they are not likely to be the type of bird that will sit on your finger or shoulder.
If you are considering keeping a finch as a pet there are a few things you will have to take into consideration. The first being that you will need to have a big enough cage for the bird; they generally need enough room to fly between perches. Your bird will need some bird toys to help keep him occupied, plus you will want to let him enjoy a birdbath on occasion.
Some of the most popular types of finches to keep as pets include,
Pintail Whydahs – The Pintail Whydahs are a variety of finch native to Nigeria. These birds are white and black, and the male will have very long tail feathers during the mating season.
Nutmeg Mannikin – This type of finch is also known as the spice finch; this bird has a solid brown head and a body that is white and brown. You can easy find this type of finch at local pet stores and they are often very inexpensive.
Zebra Finch – Another common pet finch is the Zebra Finch. This bird is named for its black and white stripes that resemble that of a zebra. One of the reasons that this bird is so popular as a pet is that they are easy to take care of, even for beginners. The life expectancy of this finch is approximately 12 years.
Black Throated Finch – The black throated finch is aptly named for the black patches on its throat area.
Strawberry Finch – The strawberry finch is named for the red spot on the chest that looks like a strawberry. This type of finch is very hardy and is suited to live in both indoors and outdoors.
If you are considering a finch for a pet you may want to look at the types of finches that are easiest to care for. The Zebra finch is probably one of the better choices for beginners as they are hardy and can easily be kept indoors. Finches can be a little noisy so if you would like to eliminate the noise you can choose a female, as they do not sing.
Another thing you will want to do is buy your birds in pairs of two; although you can keep a single bird they will do much better if they have a mate. You will also want to select your birds so that they are about the same size; this way the smaller one will not become too stressed by the larger bird.
Finches are great pets for those who want to bring a little of the outdoors into their home.
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