molucan munias

[Waxbillman]

hello All

i'll try again this, time with no copy-righted photos.

i went to a good pet centre near me the other day, who always seem to have young captive bred silverbills and even spice finches!!

anyway i looked at the cages that said 2, 05 bred spice finches £10 each when i lucked at them i thought there not spice finches i looked in my book and the birds appear to be molucan munias !

the question is should i buy these and make sure some breederer of mannikins get them?

Matthew

[chris]

Hi Matthew,

sounds like a great idea. i've got to say i don't know of this bird, but i'm sure and manakin breederer:-P would be interested

Chris:wink:

[Waxbillman]

i know someone who specialises in mannikins in the WFS,

i have told him about them but he lives a bit too far away i think.

basically they look a bit like a cross between a spice finch and a self-chocolate bengalese.

Matthew

[laurab]

Hi Matthew, I am sure someone would soon take them off your hands.

I saw the photo and they look lovely. Do you remember where the photo was? You could always add a link to it. ;-)

[Waxbillman]

hello Laura

i'll have a look Laura.

Matthew

[Waxbillman]

ok then here it is http://www.efinch.com/species/molucan.htm

a great load of information on there.

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Matthew,

Please contact Phil Hargreaves regarding these Birds, I'm very sure he will be interested in getting hold of them, to be honest I wouldn't mind having them myself.:grin:

Paul.:wink:

[Waxbillman]

hello Paul

thats the man i was talking about,

he his busy, i have contacted him and gave him their number, however the birds were still there the other day, if they haven't been sold by next saturday i 'll buy them and save them for who ever wants them.

Matthew

[Gary]

very nice birds, as long as they wasnt hybrids, i would snap them up !!! if only i was closer :???:
;-)

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Matthew,
Could you please PM your address to me and I will send you the money for the Birds?

Paul.:wink:

[Waxbillman]

Paul


you've got money for these birds, yet you have none for the WFS? :lol: only joking

yep i'll PM you.

Matthew

[Gary]

well done paul ......

[PAUL HEARN]

Cheers Matthew and Gary,

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for the PM mate.:wink:
The money for the Mollucans will be in the post to you tomorrow morning, and the money for my subscriptions for the WFS will be in the post to John tomorrow also, cheeky bugger.:lol:

Hi Gary,

Sorry mate.:-|

Paul.

[Gary]

its all right paul, i should of said i def would have them,


matt, any more i would be interested

[Waxbillman]

hello Gary,

i have decided where ever i go now, if i see any particularly rare/ uncommon finches/ waxbills at good prices then i will get them a let people who are interested.

Matthew

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Matthew,

I'm doing much the same, only I bought a pair of Five Coloured Mannikins with Phil in mind, but I'm now very tempted to keep them myself,:roll: when all of this hype over Avian Flu has calmed down I may end up sending the Five Colours in the direction of Phil after all??

Gary,

It may not be all that bad mate, there is a chance that some Mollucans will make it towards you one day?

A contact I have is catching onto the idea of the Asian Mannikin situation, and he is buying such Birds knowing that I will have them, or pass them onto people who are looking for them.

I know it's not much, but on Saturday I picked up a single Indian Silverbill from him for £5.:grin:
The fact is these once common Asian Birds are still available, but it's just a case of having the right people looking for them.

One tip for you though, if you are looking for Mollucans in particular please look out for Celebes Mannikins also as they are the same Bird.

Paul.:wink:

[dave85]

paul,

i still have 3 indian silverbills - even though i still think they are all female. what is best for them to breed? as i dont want them hybridising with my africans (2 cocks and maybe 3 hens). its not fair everyone lives near a decent bird place and me i live near just some loosy petshops who barely have any zebs or bengies.

what species of mannakin would you recommend getting? as im already hopefully going to get white headed nuns but what else?

Thanks
Dave

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave,

The best advise I can give you regarding breeding from your three Indian Silverbill hens, is to pair them with three Indian Silverbill cocks.:lol:

Seriously though, if there is a way of us exchanging Birds I can provide a swap of cocks for hens with you, I just hope Spring Stafford goes ahead. If so maybe we can make an exchange then?:wink:

I'm pleased you will be getting some White Headed Nuns, I would suggest you look out for any Black Headed Nuns also, and make serious attempts of breedings from these Birds.

I'm looking for Pallid Nuns/Munias and of course hen Tri-Coloured Nuns also, please let me know if you come across these Birds.

Paul.:wink:

[josoll]

With people talking about Mannikins,i know that the Ponderosa had Magpie mannikins,i dont know how sort after they are,but they had 4-5 if i remember right,i liked the look of them,but didnt want to dive in head first!.

[PAUL HEARN]

Hello Jo,

Thanks for posting this, although Magpie Mannikins are African and are relatively safe in numbers in comparison to Asian Mannikins at the moment, they seem to have a very small following in recent years.:-|

Most African Mannikins such as Bronze Winged, Black and White, Fernando Po, Rufous Backed etc, are all small cute looking Birds that appeal to people who want a mixed collection of various small Finches.
But the larger Magpie Mannikin looks like a troublesome character with an impressively sized beak to match it's larger size than the above Mannikin Species.

The fact is that the above smaller African Mannikins are probably far more aggressive than the larger Magpie Mannikin, I do think it is time that measures should be taken by anyone who has room for these Birds to attempt establishing them in UK Aviculture before they are lost along with the once common Asian Mannikin Species.

Paul.