Fun Cut-throat Finch Facts For Kids

The cut-throat finch (Amadina fasciata), also known as the bearded finch, is a small bird species that is found widely across Africa. These birds are beautiful to look at and have become popular pet birds due to them being sold in the pet trade worldwide.

As the name would suggest, these birds are often known by their plumage description as they have a bright red band on their throats which adds to their beauty. This red band can only be found on the males as the females lack this, making it easy to differentiate between either sex.

The population of these birds is stable due to them being easy to care for as pets. Hopefully, this stable population continues to exist and these beautiful birds do not go through any danger of being endangered or threatened.

If you liked these true facts about cut-throat finch birds, then you'll surely like these facts about the palm warbler and swallow-tailed kite too!

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Cut-Throat Finch Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a cut-throat finch?

The cut-throat finch (Amadina fasciata), also known as the ribbon finch or the bearded finch, is a small bird species that is native to the regions of Africa.

This bird is popular as a pet bird around the world as it is an easy finch species to breed and is popular because of the unique bright red band across its throat.

What class of animal does a cut-throat finch belong to?

Cut-throat finches belong to the Aves class of animals.

How many cut-throat finches are there in the world?

The exact population of cut-throat finches cannot be stated as this bird species is found in a large population in Africa. As a pet, this bird can be found across the world in an aviary or pet store as they are a popular species in the pet trade thanks to their small size and beautiful plumage.

Where does a cut-throat finch live?

These birds are found in arid countries and inhabit semi-deserts and Acacia savanna.

What is a cut-throat finch's habitat?

Cut-throat finch (Amadina fasciata) birds inhabit high treetops and are seen in flocks that can be small or large. They are most commonly found near trees and bushes with ample water around them.

Who do cut-throat finches live with?

Cut-throat finches are a social bird species and are often found in large groups with adult males, females, and juveniles. Even though these birds are social, they can become aggressive during the breeding season as they protect their nesting spots and their young.

Female breeding cut-throats are more aggressive in defending their nesting spots and the young as they show fiercer aggression towards the protection of their chicks.

How long does a cut-throat finch live?

Cut-throat finches have an average lifespan of eight to 10 years in captivity. The lifespan of these birds could be extended if they are provided with a proper diet in the form of a good mix of food which can include live food, green food, a variety of millet, and any good quality bird food with lots of calcium.

There is not much data on how long the lifespan of these birds is in the wild. Both red finches and saffron finches have similar lifespans.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season of cut-throat finches varies in most regions of Africa as they breed during different months. In Senegal, they breed in August and December to March, in December to May in South Africa, and all around the year in Zimbabwe.

During the breeding courtship routine, the males raise their head and body with their red-throat being clearly visible which is used to attract the females. If the female is receptive, she will allow the male to mate with her.

After mating and the breeding process between the pairs, the hen will lay three to six eggs in nests that the pair will either build or use previously housed nests of other birds. These nests are usually untidy balls or have tunnel-like shapes.

After laying the eggs, both parents will take part in the incubation process with an average incubation period of 12-13 days. Newly born cut-throat finch offspring have a nestling period of 21-27 days and are fed by their parents for 21 days or more.

What is their conservation status?

Currently, cut-throats are listed as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as these birds have become a common species that can be found in an aviary and pet stores. They have gone through large scale breeding by breeders for as they are common pet birds across the world.

These birds becoming a common species of housed pets around the world has helped in maintaining and increasing their population.

Cut-Throat Finch Fun Facts

What do cut-throat finches look like?

Cut-throat finches have pale sandy brown colored feathers with a black-brown tail, which is accompanied by their fluffy white chin and cheeks and a belly that has a chestnut brown patch to it. The legs of this bird are pink fleshy.

Males have a bright red colored band on their throat which the females lack. Male juveniles resemble adult males but are paler in comparison and have a red band across the throat, while female juveniles resemble the adult female and are duller in comparison.

How cute are they?

These birds are an extremely cute species. They are friendly birds and look pretty thanks to their puffy white chin and cheeks. The songs of these birds are soothing too. If you want a cute songbird, the cut-throat finch is the perfect bird for you.

How do they communicate?

Cut-throat finches use a variety of calls in their daily life. Males will usually use low-pitched calls to search for potential mates and mothers sing to their young ones. Nesting pairs will use a thin 'eee-eee-eee' sound to call for each other.

How big is a cut-throat finch?

These small birds are one of the smallest finches found in Africa and grow up to 5 in (12.7 cm). They are bigger than the smallest true finch, the Andean siskin, which only grows up to 3.8 in (9.6 cm), and also the strawberry finch. However, they are similar in size to house finches.

How fast can a cut-throat finch fly?

Due to a lack of data deficiency, the flight speed of these birds cannot be stated.

How much does a cut-throat finch weigh?

The cut-throat finch is a lightweight bird, and a full-grown adult weighs between 0.5-0.6 oz (16.5-17.5 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

A male cut-throat finch is called a cock, and a female cut-throat finch is called a hen.

What would you call a baby cut-throat finch?

Cut-throat finch babies are called chicks.

What do they eat?

Cut-throats in the wild forage the ground in search of a variety of food like insects, termites, ant pupae, grass, berries, and seeds.

In captivity, the feeding of these birds should be a balanced diet which includes millet, grass, seed mix, and live food like worms and crickets. Leafy food should also be provided to maintain the diet and provide enough calcium.

Are they dangerous?

No, these birds are not dangerous. These are docile birds and usually like to interact with humans, which is why they are popular as pet birds. However, a cut-throat finch can be aggressive towards each other or other birds.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, these birds make amazing pets. You can find a cut-throat finch for sale in pet stores or breeders, and they cost between $50-$60.

Cut-throats are easy birds for beginners as they require low maintenance. In case you end up purchasing a pair of these birds, it is recommended to keep them in single pairs in a suitable cock to hen ratio and not with other smaller finches as they are known to bully smaller finch species.

It is important to keep their feeding at a normal pace with a good amount of millet and seeds as an imbalanced diet might cut their life short.

Did you know...

Finch chicks can go through different types of mutations that cause variation in the color of their feathers if they are the result of a mix-breeding. Some of these mixed chicks go by the names of Isabel, yellow-throated or orange-throated, and the white, ino, or albino cut-throat finch.

The Isabel is sandy brown and has a chestnut brown patch with black markings that turn dark gray.

The white or ino finch is completely white except for the red-throat. The yellow-throated or orange-throated finch has a yellow or orange throat instead of the usual red throats.

These birds are four further subspecies which are called Amadina fasciata fasciata, Amadina fasciata alexanderi, Amadina fasciata meridionalis, and the Amadina fasciata contigua.

Baby cut-throat finches can be hand-trained.

These birds do not like interference when they mate. As a result of interference, they will abandon their eggs.

Why are cut-throat finches also called weaver, ribbon, and bearded finches?

Cut-throat finches are also known as the bearded finch, the weaver finch, and the ribbon finch in Africa and other parts of the world. The names bearded and ribbon finch are a result of the description of these birds as the red band on their throat makes it look like they have a beard.

The name weaver finch is because of the elaborately woven nests that they make out of grass.

Are cut-throat finches endangered?

No, these birds are not endangered. These birds are a species of Least Concern as they are the most common type of finch found in Africa.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Amazon parrot facts and Arctic tern facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Cut-throat finch coloring pages.

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