Bird Bazaar - Information about the care and breeding of finches

Bird Sex Determination

Sex determination in finches is often a problem for the beginner. 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 then require additional observation for small details available only for experienced breeders to be noticed. If you prefer a more concise way of determining the bird’s sex, there is the DNA sexing technique.







Species	Latin name	Sound/video clip	Sex distinguishable characteristics	Sexual characteristics are not easily determined
Black-headed munia	Lonchura atricapilla			The sexes are alike.
Blue-breasted Cordon Bleu finch	Uraeginthus angolensis			Hens have a larger white spot above the vent than the males do.
Blue-capped Cordon Bleu finch	Uraeginthus cyanocephala			Males brighter in color and blue extends over head and neck.
Blue-faced Parrot finch	Erythrura trichora			The female is duller in coloration with less blue on the face.
Cherry finch	Aidemosyne 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.
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 coloration.
Golden-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 underparts.
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 coloration.
Owl finch (Bicheno's finch)	Stizoptera bichenovii			The female is duller in coloration.
Parson finch	Poephila cincta			The male's trouser stripe tends to be wider and the throat bib is much broader.
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-eared waxbill	Estrilda troglodytes			The female is duller in coloration.
Red-faced Parrot finch	Erythrura psittacea			The female is duller and less red on the face.
Saffron finch	Sicalis flaveola			The female is duller in coloration.
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 breeeding season the sexes are alike.
Swee waxbill	Estrilda melanotis		The male has a black face, but the female's face is grey.
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.

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