This pair of finches was the last to be added to our indoor
community, bringing the population to a total of twenty-two birds. At this density, we
believed we'd reached our limit, though there are still a few birds we think we dream
about adding at some future date.
We deliberated about adding another pair of waxbills to the
red eared, rosy rumped, red cheeked cordon bleu and gold breasted waxbills the aviary
already housed. We decided that we'd try one more pair of agreeably tempered waxbills.
The red eared waxbills
were purchased from a pet store, though not the one we so often had bought
birds in the past. The prices at the new place were cheaper and the store
better kept overall.
After a short time in the isolation cage, we introduced the
red eared waxbills into the aviary. Our curiosity is always high whenever new birds come
into our lives and we watch newcomers closely for a few days to make sure they're healthy
and get along with everyone. Almost right away, we noticed that something was wrong with
the male of this pair. He sat isolated from his mate and the other finches with his head
tucked under his wing. Usually new birds can be shy in a new environment, but this little
guy was more than just shy - he was sick. The very next day, we took him back to the store
and exchanged him. His replacement and the original female have shown no signs of sickness
since their arrival.
We had anticipated the new waxbills becoming instant
friends with the older waxbills, but no such thing happened.
The red eared waxbill pair were fast
friends with each other, but were unceremoniously shooed away by the other waxbills. Hmm.
There was no feathers flying over the old and new waxbills not getting along, but there
was no buddy-buddy stuff happening either. A few months have passed and while the
situation has not worsened, it hasn't gotten much better either.
Strangely enough, the first birds to become (sort-of)
friends of the red eared waxbills were the white headed nuns. I say sort of because I'd
observe FinchCam photos of the red ears snuggled close to the male white headed nun.
The white headed nun, by the way, has never been what we'd consider to be a warm type of guy, so why he
tolerated these two little waxbills to sidle up to him is a complete surprise.
The red eared waxbills' natures are typical of the other
small waxbills. They're agile, acrobatic, even tempered and very cute little birds, and we
highly recommend them in a community aviary with similar finches.
