Australian Birdkeeper – June-July 2018

the foliage where their overprotective
parents will tend to them. The chicks
appear to spend a bit more time on the
ground before they clamber up among
vegetation, but this could just be that
the aviary grasses haven’t thickened up
nicely enough just yet. Chicks on the
ground are easy to locate as both parents
go bananas as soon as you get close to
where they are hiding!
I do remember ringing Allen all
depressed early in the piece and telling
him that the ‘stupid weavers’ had pulled
their one and only nest to pieces. He just
laughed and suggested ‘look on the fl oor
son!’ Once I started scrabbling around,
I located the two chicks that had until
recently resided in the wrecked nest. I
had no idea that the weavers smashed the
nest within hours of the chicks exiting
it! All that remains of a few nests in the
aviary is a ‘fl ack-burst’ of cotton lintas to
mark the spots.
The Grenadiers I’d bred had reused
a nest 2–3 times, so this demolition
behaviour was new to me. Allen said
Orange Bishops would tear apart old nests
too. The exception to this rule is the last
nests of the season, which are frequently
left intact by both species. Grenadier
nests are usually still standing well after
the breeding season and are then used by
a number of waxbills and other fi nches.
Green Singers are particularly fond of them
to nest in, as are Orange-breasted Waxbills.

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CONCLUSION

If you are looking for something a little

different, then maybe the Napoleon Weaver

is just the species for you. Take heed of the

comments regarding housing them with

other more timid species, because even if

they do not actually attack other species

their constant-motion approach during

the breeding season may lead to a level

of stress that could prevent other species

from breeding. Let’s face it, having walked

around the back of the grasses only to

have a fully puffed up male Napoleon hot

on the trail of a very nervous female run

straight into you may be too much for

some fi nch species! I know Allen once

had them in with a waxbill species until

he noticed the latter were all hunkering

down in the thickest shrub, too scared to

venture out lest they get steamrolled by a

demented male Napoleon!

The determined effort of a few very

good fi nchos managed to establish this

species with a lot of hard work in putting

all the bloodlines we had together in a

meaningful way. Let’s strive to maintain

and breed these interesting chaps in even

greater numbers.

The fate of all our

remaining exotic

fi nch species

is, after all, in

the hands of all

of us.

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