RED-CHEEKED CORDONBLU
(Uraeginthus bengalus)
di Enzo Patanè
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"Allevamento
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Scientific name: Uraeginthus bengalus
Italian name: Cordon blu
The genus uraeginthus comprises
some of the beautifulst species present in our voliere and the
Red-cheeked Cordonblu, probably represents the more common and
more reperibile member in commerce.
DISTRIBUTION
East South of the Mauritania,
Senegal and Gambia, Mali, northern part of the Ghana, leaves southern
of the Niger, the Ciad and the Sudan, south of Ethiopia until
the Uganda, western part of the Kenya, Cameroun, Republic Center
African, Zaire and Rwanda It's distributed in the greater part
of western center Africa over the 1800 meters of height. In its
lands of origin is a bird much confident and living in the neighbor
of villages , parks and garden.
DESCRIPTION
It's a bird long around to
12.5 13 cm. The livery of the adult male is unmistakable. The
cheeks, the advanced part of the chest and of the flanks and the
tail are of a beautiful tonality of blue, the advanced parts are
tawny and the belly color chamois.
On the cheek detaches a beautiful
shining red spot . The female lacks the red spot and the blue
parts are less extended and than one tonality more faded. The
female of Red-cheeked is easy confondibile with that one of the
cordon blue from which it differs only for the ransom and for
the spout that have the red more extended that in the cousins.
The young people are similar the females but they have the spout
completely dark .
MAINTENANCE AND FEEDING
The birds just imported needs
of warmth and cures in rather how much delicate but, once acclimatized,
is rather adaptable and very adapted to the life in cage. It needs
of a seed mixture of type B, vegetable. The live food is essential
for a good health. It can be lodged in cages of 45 cm of length,
but breeding is difficultly. If lodged in a cage at least 100
cm breed ready.
COMPATIBILITY
Is'nt an aggressive bird that
can cohabit calmly with other species of waxbills. In the same
container more males, in the age of the reproduction, cannot coexist.
BREEDING
The dance of courtship
of the male is one of the beautifulr shows to which can be assisted.
Choice a wire of grass, firm in the point more in sight of the
cage and begun to sing, swinging the head up and down . The song
is much beautiful and remembers that of the allodola.
One times acclimatized one pair breed enough
easy. The nest is constituted from a globular structure that constructed
indifferently is in a open nest box that in a closed basket. If
in the container always greens are available the pair prefer to
construct the nest.
The brooded comprises usual 4-6 eggs whiteand
the female broods for approximately 12 days. To the clutch the
parents need of one great amount of lives food in order to raise
the chicks.
In absence of live food the female don't throw
the chicks outside of the nest, as they make the greater part
of the waxbills, but it continue to heat they until their dead.
It's better, therefore, to entrust the eggs
to a reliable pair of sparrows of Japan preventively accustomed
to eat of an highly proteic patè. To notice that the chicks
of the genus uraeginthus ask the food without to raise the head,
but swing it of devious, therefore only little pairs of sparrows
of Japan they can nourish since the first days.
It's necessary therefore to select these pairs
of sparrows and to reserve they exclusively to the breeding of
the chicks of the genus uraeginthus.
The chicks exit from the nest around the 14
days of life and they don't flyng.
After others three weeks they are independent.
