Common Name |
Bronze-Winged Mannikin |
Latin Name |
Lonchura cucullata |
Average Lifespan |
10 Years |
Average Length |
4 Inches |
Average Weight |
7 - 10 Grams |
Song Type |
Quiet Purr |
Noise Level & Vocalization
Song consists of a series of contact calls or quiet "purring."
Physical Features
Black upper bill, silver lower bill; brownish black head with metallic green or purplish sheen; brownish black throat and upper breast; brown back & wings; shoulders sport a metallic green patch; flanks are mottled brown & white; black tail with brown-and-black cross-barred rump; white belly; dark grey or blackish legs.
Aviary Compatibility
Bronze-winged Mannikins prefer to live in groups of like species. Males may become aggressive toward each other and other species during the breeding season; fighting birds will fan out the wing that is further away from their enemy during spats.
Bronze-winged Mannikins live in flocks and family parties outside of the breeding season and may associate with other species of waxbill and mannikin. Allo-preening is common among birds on friendly terms.
Diet
They eat grass seeds (from the genera Digitaria, Panicum, & Setaria), soft greens, & flying termites on the wing, and feed both on the ground & on plants. Favorite foods include small mixed millet, greens, egg food, mealworms, ant pupae, soaked seed.
Care
Potential health problems include: overgrown toenails that require frequent trimming, obesity if given inadequate opportunity to exercise, a possibility for developing intestinal parasites due to insect-eating and ground-feeding habits, and egg-binding if suffering from nutritional deficiency or bred in cold conditions.
Housing
Breeding Information
Age of Maturity |
1 Year |
Breeding Aviculture |
Somewhat Common |
Average Clutch Size |
4 - 6 Eggs |
Nest Box |
Wicker Basket |
Breeding Life |
3 Years |
Breeding is restricted to the warm (rainy/wet) season, but may occur year-round near the equator.
For best results, keep a group (at least 3 pairs and with equal numbers of cocks and hens) of these birds together to allow the birds to choose their own partners. Birds aged 1 to 4 years are best suited to breeding. Newcomers to the flock may be attacked, intensely courted, and mounted, but are usually accepted before long. Because they can become pugnacious while breeding, Bronze-winged Mannikins may be best kept in a group on their own while breeding. Birds are most successfully bred in a community fashion in larger aviaries, though some may breed in cages in pairs with increased productivity.
Introduce a breeding diet about one month prior to breeding. Pairs may make use of semi-open nest boxes, nest baskets, or they may build their own nests in bushes using coconut fiber, leaves, grass, and feathers for padding. Copulation tends to occur inside the privacy of the nest, and may be interrupted by other males if taking place outside of the nest. For rearing food, provide varied options of ample sprouted seed, egg food, and live food. Live food is considered optional, but appreciated.
Nest checks tend to be tolerated. Parents usually cease brooding the young around 10 days of age, so it is important to ensure an adequately warm enclosure at this time.
Fledged young raise the wing furthest from the parent bird when begging for food. Parents may escort fledglings back to the nest for about 2 weeks. After the young fledge, they do not need to be separated from the parents/breeding pairs, and may form a peaceful extended family from successive clutches. Sometimes captive young from older clutches may try to feed their younger siblings. Parent birds may drive these older juveniles out of the nest, but will often permit them to feed their younger siblings after they have fledged. If removing juveniles, wait 4 weeks until after they have fledged to ensure they are fully weaned. The spent nest can be removed so the parents build a fresh one for the next brood.
Birds should be transitioned to an austerity diet after breeding, where soft foods, egg food, live food, and greens are limited, and ideally housed in flights or aviaries for exercise.
Wild Status
Stable - Least Concern