Gould's finches are one of the brightest and most beautiful birds.

Gould's Amadina (lat. Chloebia gouldiae) is considered one of the brightest and most beautiful Australian birds. This species was first described by the English zoologist John Gould in 1844. The scientist named the small birds "Lady Gould's amadins" - in honor of his beloved wife, who accompanied him during his trips. True, J. Gould described only the black-headed variety, considering the red-headed and yellow-headed birds as separate species. However, today it is known that they freely interbreed with each other and give the most diverse offspring.

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1. Most of all in nature it is black-headed finches, but there are very few yellow-headed ones - one individual per 3 thousand birds with black and red heads. This color arose due to a natural mutation - birds with yellow feathers on their heads simply could not turn yellow caroteids into red substances. It's funny that because of the instinctive fear of birds in front of the red color, red-headed individuals almost always turn out to be winners in the fight for food (in 81.5% of cases).

2. All varieties of Gouldian finches have a blue stripe on the back of the head and throat, which gradually turns into a green plumage of the back. The chest of these 11-centimeter birds is lilac, the abdomen is yellow, the covering feathers of the tail are blue. There are blue rings around the dark brown eyes. At the same time, females are always paler than males.

3. Gouldian finches are found in Australia, where they choose the most humid areas. It is interesting that these representatives of the family of finches weavers often migrate, leaving their homes and even their chicks, only to not feed on the ground.

4. The fact is that with the onset of drought, dry grass seeds, which, along with insects, are the food of amadin, fall out of their panicles and they can only be eaten, ec whether to descend from the tree. And the bright birds do not like this, so they fly away to where the prolonged rains do not allow the seeds to fall on the ground. In arid places, Gouldian finches may not appear for years.

5. Unfortunately, in their homeland, these baby birds have become extremely rare and belong to endangered species. However, their bright plumage and wonderful voice provided them with a cozy place in zoos and private nurseries. True, it is difficult to keep such beauties, and it is even more difficult to breed them - they are too tender and fastidious.

6. But how cool to listen to their magnificent singing! Gouldian finches have a very developed pack instinct, and they all the time echo each other with gentle calls of "sith". At the same time, their voices are so quiet that they can only be heard from a very close distance. But at the slightest danger, the timid “sit” turns into a sharp “citt-citt”, turning into a very loud “tsrui-it”, if the bird is very excited.

7. Amadins nest at the end of the rainy season, when there is a lot of food around. In one clutch, usually from 5 to 8 eggs, which are incubated by both parents. Mom and dad feed the chicks with termites and half-ripe seeds of local herbs. In the wild, the natural enemies of Gouldian finches are snakes, from which they escape on the thinnest twigs, and diurnal birds of prey. Ants, larvae of some flies and small lizards can threaten chicks.

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