Estrilda melpoda: common name orange cheeked waxbills.

An interesting colourful, energetic small waxbill. Four inches (average) in size, both sexes are identical have seen many references to the hens being supposedly slightly duller and lacking the salmon vent colouring. Whilst this may be true in certain cases I have seen too much variation even in the same clutch of chicks to regard this as an even slightly accurate method of sexing. In fact if I applied this to the birds in our aviaries all the cocks could be considered hens and vice versa. Song and display is the only definite indicator, bearing in mind that the hens will sometimes carry a blade of grass and display hopping up and down on a perch (our hens have on occasion done this). They will also sing a little but this song is very weak and somewhat disjointed, nowhere near the pure and melodious song of a cock.

Breeding can occur at any time of year but is usually in spring when it is starting to get warmer. With an indoor flight and sufficient heating our pair made their first attempt in late winter. The usual preference for nesting sites seems to be below one metre high, and nests are usually of their own construction hidden in gorse or conifer branches. The hens will mainly incubate for between 12 and 14 days with the cock taking his turn sitting the eggs in the daytime only, the hen sleeps on the nest at night-time. They aren't a nest roosting species but will sleep in the nest after the chicks have fledged, mainly as a way of getting the chicks back to the safety of the nest. The chicks will return at night to roost in their nest for up to two weeks with 10 days or less being average. Chicks fledge (leave the nest) for the first time anywhere between 16 and 22 days, much depending on how well they are fed, temperature and their own hunger. Our birds seem to appear around the eighteenth day. These chicks are very strong well-coordinated fliers and perch well, they are uniformly brown similar to their parents wing colour with fairly bright orange cheek patches, they also sport white gape tubercles (small spots next to their beaks - probably an aid to locating their mouths in the darkness of a nest). They soon moult out into adult colours, usually within twelve weeks of hatching. The parents require live food during their breeding period, fruit flies and mini mealworms being the aviculturalists choice, they will take a wide variety of live food types and especially like small spiders. Soaked and germinated seed is taken in large amounts and fed to the chicks, grated cuttlefish bone and possibly some iodised minerals (pigeon minerals) are a prerequisite too. The parents will feed the fledglings for another two weeks after leaving the nest and this is done in typical Estrildid fashion with the chicks crouching low on a perch and twisting their heads to the side and slightly upwards. Independence occurs anytime between ten and 18 days (average noted being around 14-15).

Our first Orange Cheek pair (Cock on left and hen on right)

NOTES Regarding Decoy (Cock) Nests

A strange occurrence regarding the use and building of decoy nests commonly called 'cock' nests.

When our first pair built their breeding nest for the summer the cock continued to add extra areas on top and made another nesting cup, he spent may hours adding to this 'cock' nest and behaved in an odd manner when sitting in it. He also carried old dried droppings and amused us by sitting and rubbing this 'material' all over the surface and embedding into the structure he had built.

According to scientific study these nests that are not actual parts of the real nest are used as an anti-predator mechanism to safeguard against snakes and other potential predators, and the use of strong smelling substances (old droppings) works to draw attention away from the smell generated by the young chicks, they also have an elaborate tunnel system into their nests and have a 'door' that covers the real entrance to the actual nest chamber.
A most unusual thing to see the cock carrying dried droppings about, took a few hours to work out what this cock was doing. Well since then we have had younger birds also build nests and this behaviour has been noted as the finishing touches to their nest preparation. Every nest built has had this done so it must be a standard procedure for every bird. I am not sure if I have read about this particular aspect anywhere else or not, but it does make sense of a kind to disguise the smell of fresh chicks from snakes etc., as droppings are old perhaps this signals the predators that the nest is actually deserted and not worthy of further investigation.

Flying orange cheek cock:

A few photographs;

Orange cheeks bathing

Orange cheeks with other Estrildids

Orange cheeks in a different pose with other Estrildids