Gulf Coast Finches

This is one of those torch lamps I left behind in a bedroom when I moved most of the human stuff out to make a birdroom. The first nest was a simple open one made by Gray Singers. When they were done, the Yellow Winged Pytilias moved in and added more coco fiber. When their clutch fledged, a pair of Zebras came in, added the tube extension on the left side. Since the photo was taken, the Yellow Winged Pytilias returned, removed the extension, and are now working on a new clutch after a two-month rest period.

These are three of the Society nest boxes I got at Lady Gouldian. The cages I was going to use them in have the two smaller doors and the boxes didn't fit, so I just put them on top of a cage. Within minutes representatives from the Zebra Housing Authority were there to inspect them and three couples moved in the next day.

The beauty of an indoor flight room is that if you run out of cage space, you just hang nests on the walls. Mounting nests near the top of the walls over enclosed flights or cages is enticing, as the birds feel they are safer from predators. All are currently occupied.

A couple of Zebras began building a nest between two cages. When they began, the space was only about 1-1/2" wide, so I carefully moved the right cage a little each day as they were building, until there was enough room to raise a clutch. Engineers they are not; breeders they are. 

This nest was built by a pair of Painted Firetails on the floor, under the hinge of the door. For 5 weeks I couldn't open the door all the way, until one morning the fledglings simply walked out of the nest and onto the floor. It was a cute moment.

Cage stands are nice, except when there is just enough room between the cages to build nests. This one kept expanding, and when I removed the top cage to clean it, there were actually five nests with different stages of families-in-progress.
 

This jumble of coco fiber in the corner of a room contains at least three Orange Cheek nests. OCs will sometimes build 3 or 4 nests and breed in only one, using the rest as decoys.