Bird Sex Determination - BirdBazaar.com


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Bird Sex Determination

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Sex determination in finches is often a problem for the beginner aviculturist. If the bird lays eggs, certainly it is female. The female has ability to lay an egg independently; she does not need to have a male nearby. However, if that is not the case, but you want to make a pair for breeding?
There are several methods to determine the sex of a bird. Sex-specific differences in coloration can be useful for some species of finches as it is shown in the table. These differences can be expressive or slight and require additional observation for small details or can only be sexed by the behavior or song of the male.

Finch Color Variations

Red-billed FireFinch

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If you prefer a more concise way of determining the bird’s sex, there is the DNA sexing technique .

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Species	Latin name	Sound/ video clip	Sex distinguishable characteristics	Sexual characteristics are not easily determined
Black-cheeked waxbill	Estrilda erythronotos			The sexes are alike.
Black-headed munia	Lonchura atricapilla			The sexes are alike.
Blue-capped Cordon Bleu finch	Uraeginthus cyanocephala			Males brighter in color and blue extends over head and neck.
Blue-faced Parrot finch	Erythrura trichroa			The female is duller in color with less blue on the face.
Cherry (Plum-headed) finch	Neochmia modesta		The male has a plum bib under his beak. The female lacks the plum bib and has a thin white stripe above the eye.
Chestnut-breasted munia	Lonchura castaneothorax			The sexes are alike.
Crimson finch	Neochmia phaeton		Male have a grey crown, a crimson red face, breast, rump and tail, while the sides are white-spotted and the brown wings flushed with red. Female have pale fawn colored underparts and the crown and back are brown.
Cuban Melodious finch	Tiaris canora		The male’s intense black beak, cheeks, lower facial area, and throat surrounded by a yellow crescent-shaped band. Female is significantly duller; her yellow is browner in color, and any black areas on the male appear are greyer.
Cutthroat finch	Amadina fasciata		The female lacks the red throat band.
Diamond Firetail finch	Emblema guttata			The sexes are alike.
Dybowski's Twinspot waxbill	Euschistospiza dybowskii			The female is duller in color.
Forbes Parrot finch	Erythrura tricolor		The female is a dilute from of the male.
Gold-breasted waxbill	Amandava subflava		The male has red stripe above his eyes and he is more brightly colored than female.
Gouldian finch	Erythrura gouldiae		The female is duller in coloration and the bill turns gray during breeding. The males have a darker purple breast than the females. In males, the circle of blue feathers around the head is slightly bigger and brighter.
Green Singing finch (Yellow-fronted canary)	Serinus mozambicus			The female with a weaker head pattern and duller under parts.
Grey Singing finch	Serinus leucopygius			The sexes are alike.
Java Rice sparrow	Padda oryzivora			If a male and a female are held beak to beak, the male will show a larger and more massive beak, especially at the base.
Lavender waxbill	Estrilda caerulescens			Hens have fewer and smaller white spots on the thighs.
Masked finch	Poephila personata			The black mask of the female is smaller.
Melba finch	Pytilia melba		The female is duller, has a grey head while the male has a red face and red throat.
Orange-cheeked waxbill	Estrilda melpoda			The female is duller in color.
Owl (Bicheno's) finch	Stizoptera bichenovii			The female is duller in color.
Painted (Firetail) finch	Emblema picta		The male has bright red coloring on the throat and chest area. The female has considerably less concentration of red on the throat and chest.
Parson finch	Poephila cincta			The male's trouser stripe tends to be wider and the throat bib is much broader.
Purple Grenadier waxbill	Uraeginthus ianthinogaster		The male has a cinnamon-colored head and neck with a blue patch surrounding the eye. The female is smaller and mostly cinnamon brown with white barring on the underparts and silver-blue eyepatches.
Red-billed firefinch	Lagonosticta senegala		The male has scarlet plumage apart from brown wings, female - brown upperpart and buff underpart.
Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu finch	Uraeginthus bengalus		The female looks like the male except for the red patch on the cheeks.
Red-faced Parrot finch	Erythrura psittacea			The female is duller and less red on the face.
Red-headed finch	Amadina erythrocephala		The male has vibrant red head and chest while the female lack any red on the head.
Saffron finch	Sicalis flaveola			The female is duller in color.
Shafttail finch	Poephila acuticauda			Female have a slightly smaller and rounder bib.
Society (Bengalese) finch	Lonchura striata var.domestica			The sexes are alike.
Spice finch	Lonchura punctulata			The sexes are alike.
St. Helena waxbill	Estrilda astrild			The sexes are alike.
Star finch	Bathilda ruficauda		The male has a lot more red in the face area than female.
Strawberry finch	Amandava amandava		During the breeding season the male is brown- red; outside this period he looks like the female.	Outside of the breeding season the sexes are alike.
White-headed munia	Lonchura maja			The sexes are alike.
Zebra finch	Taeniopygia guttata		Male has orange-red ear patches, black wavy markings at the throat, and sides are chestnut with round white spots.