Barbara
Checked out my books last
night and the 'weaver type
bird' in Fraser is most
probably a comoro weaver Foudia
eminentissima. Your description helps to back this
up.
Comoro weavers have a white belly, unlike Madagascar weavers which have a red
belly. Comoros are also a lot
bigger than Madagascan weavers, so if the bird was a Madagascan weaver the
observer of the bird would most likely point out the size difference, ie that it
is smaller than a sparrow. Comoro weavers are
also much cheaper and more common in Australian aviaries, Madagascans are
now quite rare. Neither are common really and only kept by maybe a dozen people
in Canberra. The
black beak rules out most other red finches.
I talked to a weaver breeder
at my work. He said would definetely be a comoro
because they colour up now, whereas my other suggested possibility the Grenadier
weaver (Euplectes orix orix), also
held in Canberra
aviaries around Fraser, colours up in a couple of months, not now.
The guy I talked to said it
could have come from the Canberra Walk
in Aviary where there are a few comoro weavers, or possibly from a breeder in
the local area. As the bird colours up it will become a target for currawongs,
etc.
Finch club is actually meeting
tonight, so I will ask the others tonight.
Benj
Two images of the Madagascar Red
Fody Foudia madagascariensis
(female or non-breeding male); a new species for Canberra?
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