Hi all
I formerly kept and bred finches for 15 years, including Painteds, and
thought it worth adding a few notes to the previous comments on the
possibility of these birds being escapees, and 'escapeeism' generally.
(Apologies I couldnt get this on to the original thread) - some in
support of the escapee theory, more against.
Over those years of keeping a variety of finch species, including many
of the Aus natives and exotics, I did unfortunately lose several which
escaped. The major problem with escapee finch survival, at least in the
initial period before having to worry about feeding themselves, is
predation or victimisation by wild bird species. It was very distressing
to see the speed and ferocity of a number of wild bird species'
responses to these escapees. Some finches were dead within minutes from
attacks by Noisy Miners; the potential 'predators' like Grey
Butcherbird, Pied Currawong, Sacred Kingfisher, Kookaburra and Aust
Magpie tended to be a little slower but equally lethal. I also saw them
being pursued by Red and Little Wattlebirds, and not surprisingly Brown
Goshawks. This was my experience in the northern suburbs of Sydney - I
recall other bird keepers relating similar accounts with different wild
species in their areas. Even with an escape of more than one bird, eg a
breeding pair, the sustained nature of these attacks made it near
impossible for escapees to stay together, and thus locate suitable
habitat, establish a territory, etc. Of course from a point of
preventing establishment of exotic competitors this may well be a good
thing - not from a bird keeper's perspective when you're attached to
your birds! (In many cases the escapees would try to get back into the
aviary and its often not hard to get them back - main issue was always
getting to them before the local miners, butcherbirds etc).
I believe this is a major factor preventing the initial survival of
escapee finches. If you think about it, low rates of escapee survival
are born out in terms of the very low number of unusual finch sightings
recorded in places like Birding-Aus. For example there are huge numbers
of species like Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu, Java Sparrow, Cuban Finch,
Common /African Firefinch, Red Avadavat, Black-headed Munia (forgive use
of common avicultural names pls) etc in Australian aviaries - which we
see very few or no wild records of. Likewise, in the southern metros we
have large numbers of Gouldian, Star, Long-tailed, Painted and of course
Zebra Finch in captivity. Very rare for these to be recorded in these
areas despite this. The best chance for escapees to hang on for a while
might be by joining local groups of related species - in the case of
suburban Sydney this is most likely to mean Red-browed Finches. A friend
of mine in northern Sydney had escaped cordon bleu and Orange-breasted
Waxbills survive for short periods in this way.
This kind of behaviour seems to work better with the more robust parrot
species - the classic example would probably be the random Major
Mitchells, Little and Long-billed Corellas seen in Sydney flocks of
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (which may have been a factor in the
establishment of the latter 2 species around the metros). Also with
lorikeets this seems to occur. There was a case cited in earlier
comments of Port Lincoln Parrots nesting in Royal NP. The above factor
of victimisation/predation with parrots, at least the larger species,
does not seem to be as much of an issue as it is with smaller species
kept in captivity, with species such as Rose-ringed Parakeet and
rosellas seeming to have a better chance of survival. I have seen
smaller species such as Budgerigars and Peach-faced Lovebirds subject to
attack as per finch species, perhaps not on quite the same scale.
With successfully introduced finch species like Spotted Munia/Spice
Finch, European Goldfinch and Greenfinch, and (previously) Black-headed
Munia, its likely that some or all of these introductions were planned -
so on a larger scale than random escapes of 1-2 birds, and possibly into
habitat identified as potentially suitable. I dont know the history of
these species in Australia and am not sure if it is well documented. If
so, their establishment obviously comes from a very different set of
circumstances than accidental escapes.
There are no doubt many other possible variables. In many areas of
inland Australia, where open habitats are more the norm, escapee finches
might do better courtesy of lesser concentration or absence of some of
the bullying/predatory species listed above, and the likelihood that the
available habitats are more conducive to their requirements as open
country seed eaters. I dont know the area these Painteds are breeding in
but assume this may be the case here. Another factor to consider - when
I was a bird keeper until the late 1980s, there were several large-scale
bird breeders based in the Riverina - not too far from Jerilderie. I
cant recall if Painted Finches are captive bred in a colony type
situation, but many Aus finches are - so damage to an enclosure at a
large scale breeder's aviaries could potentially result in a mass escape
which might increase chances of survival and pairing in the wild.
The escapee 'question' will probably always remain with widely kept
species such as Painteds occurring in unusual locations. However as per
previous comments from others you'd have to say that there are far less
likely records occurring in recent times which definitely cannot be
attributed to escapee birds.
And lastly, there is NO WAY that Painted Finches are daggy!
Eric Finley
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