People have loved birds for centuries.
The beauty of many species has spoken to us in many ways, and none quite so much as the finches.
Gouldian finches are some of, if not the, most colorful of this family.
Available with bright green, yellow, red, and purple markings, this bird is nothing if not striking.
The birds are often called Rainbow Finches.
Gouldian finches are called rainbow because of their memorable markings and colorization.
Sadly, these gorgeous birds are becoming increasingly rare in nature.
As of the early nineties, it was estimated that less than 2,500 mature birds were in the wild.
This sad state of affairs has come about for two reasons.
One of the reasons for this decline was human infatuation with their colorful plumage.
Over the years, people would hunt these birds by the hundreds to gather their feathers for human fashion.
Another reason for the decimation of the Gouldian finch population is loss of habitat.
As humans move outwards, they force out the finches.
Gouldian finches are quickly losing their natural habitats to humans.
Thankfully, people are working towards recovering their habitats and increasing the wild population of this tiny bird.
Even with their population suffering in the wild, there is no need to worry about the status of these finches.
Gouldian finches are such a popular pet that their population is actually quite stable.
While there may not be many in nature, there are plenty in captivity.
Up until the mid-1950s, these feathered beauties were caught and exported as part of the pet trade.
Today there are thousands of breeders around the world keeping the population of this remarkable bird healthy.
These people breed for profit, research, or as a hobby.
No matter why they breed the birds, they are a huge part of keeping the population healthy for these finches.
Gouldian finches can blame their declining wild population on their beauty, but that same beauty is what has kept their population alive.
In nature, these beautiful birds have black, yellow, red, and green markings.
Unlike most birds, both the males and females have these gorgeous colorings.
The female of the species does have a lighter mauve colored chest while the males tend to have purple chests.
Either way, both the males and females are brightly colored little birds.
Selective breeding in captivity has led to several mutations in this colorization.
While in nature, the back is green on these finches, gouldian finches in captivity can have backs of different colors.
So far, blue, yellow and silver backs have been successfully bred.
This little bit of variety has served to make these colorful pets even more popular with the average person.
The bright beauty of the Gouldian finch has been both a blessing and a curse.
If these birds were less colorful then there is the chance that they would not have been hunted by people.
However, that would not have stopped their habitat from being destroyed.
While their markings may have led to them being hunted, that same coloring is what kept them alive in captivity.