Peale Parrot Finch

SHORT TAILED PARROT FINCH
ERYTHRURA CYANEOVIRENS

There are six different sub species under the name "Short tailed parrot finch" of wich the Samoa is the first.

In recent times increasingly the name "Short tailed" is being replaced by "Red-headed".

This new name must not be confused with the well-known "red headed parrot finch".

It was intented to put these birds under a new and more recent classification. Their red head colour is also a typical characteristic of the former "short tailed" family.

PEALE PARROT FINCH
ERYTHRURA CYANEOVIRENS PEALEI

© D.Wildemeersch

Also called:Short-tailed parrot finch

CLASSIFICATION
The peale’s parrot finch belongs to the group of the Short-tailed Parrot Finches.
Different authors classify this bird separately but more and more it is accepted the peale belongs to the family of the short-tailed parrot finches “Erythrura cyaneovirens”.

Of all short tailed birds this is the best known species to birdlovers, so they call him “short tail” instead of “peale’s parrot finch”
The use of the name “short tail” is misleading in view of the fact there are 6 different short tailed parrot finches.

NATIVE HABITAT
They live on the islands of Fiji and mainly on the islands Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and Taveuni.

They frequent open country and the fringe of the forests. These days they are well adapted to the presence of humans and are often seen on cultivated land and in gardens.

Normally they are seen in pairs or in small groups, but on rice fields they can be found in great numbers. They do not have a certain breeding season as youngsters are seen in January-February and July-September. Their nests are found in the dense foliage of trees at a height of 3 to 6 metres. The nests are round with a small entrance and constructed of grass and other fibrous material.

Their diet mainly consists of grass and weed seeds but, where found, rice is their principal food. They also like all kind of insects.

DESCRIPTION
The peale is a robust bird with a short tail. They are predominantly green with exception of the remarkable red mask, the red upper tail coverts, the black chin, the blue throat and chest. The blue of the chest merges with the green of the body. Between the red head and the blue they have a blue-black line. The eyes are brown and the beak is grey-black. The feet are horny coloured. Length: 12 cm.

Differentiating between male and female demands some experience. The green of the female is duller, she has less blue on the chest and the red on the head is also duller.

AVICULTURAL NOTES
They are not very often seen in our aviaries. The breeding of these parrot finches does not pose a problem. They will accept a cage, as large as possible but at least 80-40-40 cm, with a half-open nestbox together with grass and coconut fibre as nesting material.

Clutches of 3-4 eggs are incubated for 14 days. In exceptional cases they will have 5 eggs. Young are raised without any problems when they have eggfood with soaked or germinated seed at their disposal. They also like apples and oranges.

At the age of 20-23 days the yellow beaked fledglings leave the nest and at 6 weeks they are independent. At this stage you will notice some have a shiny-blue head and others a green head. Little by little the yellow colour of the beak changes into black and the moult starts for approximately 6 months.

A well-planted outdoor aviary gives greater success than a cage. Parent rearing and even colony breeding is no exception. They are very tolerant with other birds or members of the same species. In this way they stimulate each other and will all come into breeding condition together.

When the male feeds the female you can be sure a pair-bond has been formed and the first eggs will follow with little delay. This feeding behaviour has never been observed with other parrot finches.

If the birds are kept in good condition they will breed and raise young several times during the year and will continue to do so till finally the birdlover himself will intervene to stop them.

As said earlier, different pairs can be put together in an aviary. They will co-habit well and are not aggressive with other birds. Even with a single male or female there will be no serious aggression.

As parrot finches in general become fat very quickly an indoor flight or an aviary is the ideal. It gives them the opportunity for necessary exercise.

Do not forget to provide bath water. Parrot finches live constantly in the proximity of water and bathing is essential for their health.

MUTATIONS

Blue headed
A blue/black head exists, but it is not known if there are two head colours – blue and black – or if the females are blue headed and the males are black headed mutations. This mutation should be sex-linked.
This mutation also exists in nature.

Orange headed
There is also a orange headed mutation.
In these birds all the red feathers are replaced by orange feathers.
This mutation also exists in nature.

© H.W Koch
There is a supposition this bird is in fact a seagreen, because of the great similarity with the seagreens of the red-headed parrot finch.

© J. Vos
In this photos we see some orange headed birds with a green back.
This should be the mutation observers have seen in nature.

Orange upper-tail coverts
Here we have a bird with orange upper-tail coverts.
Probably a modification instead of a mutation.