Coloria Parrot Finch

COLORIA PARROT FINCH
ERYTHRURA COLORIA

Female and male.

Also called: Mindanao Parrot Finch

CLASSIFICATION
This bird is considered a separate species. No subspecies are known.

NATIVE HABITAT
They live only on the island of Mindanao (Philippines) and are restricted to the woody slopes of Mount Katanglad. They live a secretive life and are always seen in couples or in a family group. In consequence very little is known of their behaviour.

Their diet mainly consists of grass and weed seeds and they are often found on the ground searching for a wide variety of seeds.

3 days old - © E Chéritat

DESCRIPTION
At 10 cm the Coloria parrot finch is one of the smallest of the parrot finches.
They are predominantly green with exception of the mask and the cheeks, which are blue. Behind the cheeks at the level of the ear they have a red spot in the form of a half moon. The upper tail coverts are also red.

Female © D.Noirjean

Male © D.Noirjean

The beak is black, the eyes dark brown. They have remarkably long legs with horn-coloured feet and claws.

All green, blue and red colours of the female are duller. The red spot on the cheek is also smaller.
Old females develop a darker red spot on the cheek over the years which makes sexing a little difficult.

Male © G Oppenborn

AVICULTURAL NOTES
The first Colorias arrived on the European continent as late as 1964.
This first importation was not very succesful and by 1980 they were almost extinct.

In 1982 a new import arrived and through earlier experiences and observation of the birds in their natural habitat success was achieved.
Nowadays the breeding of this bird gives no problems but they remain rare.

By nature they are very calm and curious birds who frequently visit the cage or aviary floor.

Parent rearing and even colony breeding is not an exception. They will accept both half-open and flat nest sites and use grass and coconut fibre as nesting material.

Clutches of 2-4 eggs are incubated for 13 days and at 21 days old the yellow-beaked babies will leave the nest. At the age of 6 weeks they are independent.

Female - © H.J de Vos & W. Keijzer

At 4 months they have their full colour and are sexually mature.
Of course this is far too early to let them breed. They have to be at least one year old.

If the birds are kept in good condition they will breed and raise young several times during the year. Three nests per year are sufficient, but they always need greens and water for bathing.

MUTATIONS

Seagreen
All the green of these birds becomes seagreen and all the red becomes orange.

ATTENTION
From time to time hybrids are offered for pure birds:

They are the product of cross-breeding with the blue faced parrot finch. These hybrids are created with the intention of increasing the size of the Colorias.
Also some hybrids of the coupling “Blue faced x Red headed parrot finch” are offered as Colorias. These hybrids also have a blue and a red spot on the neck and unwary birdlovers can be deceived. A good way to recognise these hybrids is the larger form and the pin tail. The Coloria is a small bird with a short tail, not a pin tail.