Genetics, Blindness, and Scrappy, Happy Societies!

The Society finch, also known as the Bengalese finch, is a cute and hardy breed of bird thought to have originated in China. They come in a variety of colors, all dappled with white. Some of them even have fluffy mop tops instead of sleek rounded heads. Because of their silly antics and lively mannerism, they are among the most common bird that we stock in the aviaries for our communities. Many times, when I’m out cleaning, these little guys are pointed out to me as the favorite.  

Unfortunately, this breed of finch is not safe from the roulette of genetics. Pure white Societies are prone to blindness. I have gone into a handful of cleaning jobs only to discover these white ones on the ground, not confident enough to fly as they cannot see where they are going.

While this is an unfortunate turn of fate for these individuals, it does not mean that they cannot live full lives! Those who were not born blind, are able to have babies even while their sight is dimming; they form a unique system of caretaking between them and their mate. Unfortunately, those that were blind from birth don’t fare so successfully when it comes to mating. However, I have found that in a small cage, of which they know the layout, they can thrive in other ways. They use their beaks to test what is in front of them, tapping it lightly on the ground or on a branch so they can determine how high they have to flutter to reach it.

As for companionship, when there are two of these blind ones together, they seem to form deep bonds. I have two of these little guys at home and they are incessantly next to each other, close enough to feel that the other is there. If one is taken out of the cage, perhaps for routine nail trimming, the other will scream and call out until its friend is returned. If both are taken out of their cage, however, they sit quite contently in my hand as long as they can feel each other.

Out in the wild, these birds would not survive for long, but in captivity, in aviaries large and small, they are given the chance to show how well they can do in spite of their handicaps.  So great an inspiration coming from such a tiny member of creation!