Plumage Colouration: They are about 100mm in length. The sexes are easily distinguished as the cock has the whole of the front of the head & throat crimson red. There is also a heavy concentration of white spots in this area. Wings are an olive colour, the abdomen is a pale yellow which is very nearly white in certain areas. The upper part of the breast has an array of pale white spots which go up to & around the neck of the bird. These spots are also evident on the flanks of the bird with the wings covering some of the spots. The tail is almost a burgundy red in colour as it mixes with the olive on the back of the bird, the tail also has some spots that sometimes, to me look like a striping effect. The beak is bright red, more in the cocks. Legs & feet are a yellowish brown in colour. Hens are like the cocks but the red area on the face & the white spots are less evident & it is fair to say that the whole body is a little less colourful.

Sexing: Sexing is easy in adult birds.
The cock will have more colour to the whole of his head than the hen, regardless of colour mutation.

Feeding: Fresh clean tap water (unboiled) is all I use.
Mixed grits along with crushed eggshells, added by me. Cuttlefish is always available.
I feed a basic mixed foreign finch mix and then this is balanced with millet sprays, sweet apple, lettuce/spinach, and CEDE eggfood, sometimes this eggfood has sweetcorn (tinned) mixed in with it, no livefood is given, unless they grab a spider themselves in their cage!!

Housing: I have bred in a 2 foot and a 3 foot breeder with the nestbox hung on the outside of the cage.

Breeding: Prior to breeding I give Calcivet, mixed in with the water, to boost the hens calcium levels, probably a month before I intend to put the birds down.
The nestbox tried for 2002 is 125mm square by 175mm high, with a flip up lid, this is mainly used for inspection purposes. The entrance hole for the birds is 50mm in diameter. I use cocnut fibre for my stars and this is enough for them to build any nest they want.
Generally the birds become more active with the cock singing his head of all the time and the hen collecting what she can to maje a nest, I use newspaper on my cage floor and I have seen the hen rip small pieces of paper to start a nest with. Clutches can be upto 6 eggs but normal number is 5.
I have found my Star's to be tolerant of nest box inspections via the lid on the top of the nestbox, a small tap on the side of the box generally moves the hen from the eggs, a little harder to do when there are babies though. Incubation is 14 days, fledging in 21 and a further 21 to independance. It can take upto a year for the young to moult out fully into their adult plummage, I would never use a hen for breeding until 12 months old, a cock may be used younger but this is down to when it actually finishes its moult.

Hints/tips: Cage breed, this is more controlled and if there are problems you can react quicker if needed.

Unique Characteristics: An easy species to keep and learn from,if the basic caring is correct. You must pay attention especially when expecting eggs to hatch, I have found eggfood is vital a couple of days before eggs are due to hatch.

A great bird for those with a little bird keeping experience. Any one wanting more info please contact me I am no expert but I will try to help, contact me on evertonian61@hotmail.com