Page last updated: 26 November 2023 (website last updated: 02 December 2023)

Welcome to the Waxbill Finch Society's website

WFS 2023 AGM and branch meetings

This year's AGM took place on Saturday 24 June at our Midlands branch venue. A write-up of the day will appear in the Autumn copy of The Waxbill.

2022 WFS members' breeding returns

The 2022 WFS breeding returns have now been incorporated into our website.

The overall results feature on this  website  with further details in the summer edition of The Waxbill (unless members indicated otherwise).

2023 Target Species

WFS committee introduced ‘Target Species’ following the breeding returns for 2015. This idea was to provide an incentive for members to breed a particular species in the coming year. At that point, waxbill numbers were largely on the rise and the aim was to focus on one species a year (over a rolling three years) that needed extra support.

The last couple of years, however, have seen such a significant drop in the number of waxbills bred that several species are now under concern. It therefore seems inappropriate to focus on a single species.

For 2023, the WFS committee has decided to adopt a list of seven waxbill species. Each has been chosen as they were previously readily available but are now under threat in the UK:

•  Blue-capped Waxbill 
•  Gold-breasted Waxbill 
•  Lavender Finch 
•  Orange-cheeked Waxbill 
•  Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu 
•  Red-headed Finch 
•  St Helena Waxbill 

Forthcoming Waxbill Finch Society meetings

2024	Branch
04 February 2024 (Sunday)	Northern Branch Meeting Bramley Village Hall, South Yorks S66 2SA (5 minutes from M18 Junction 1). Hall open: 11am - 2pm.
All meetings	See our  WFS branch meetings  page for all the details.

WFS Facebook page

The Waxbill Finch Society also has its own closed group on Facebook.

Access the site through the banner above.

Paypal for your 2023/24 subscription

Subscriptions for 2023/24 are now live and run from now to 30 June 2024. Please use Paypal to renew your membership or to join us as a new or returning member.

Please note:

• We ask that you allow up to two weeks for membership requests to be processed; and
• We will use the PayPal payment details for membership purposes. Where payment is made for someone other than the card holder (as indicated by the question above), we will contact you subsequently to confirm membership details.

Please see our  membership  page for full details.

WFS members' breeding returns

The latest breeding returns (for 2022) feature in the  Species  section of the website and feature on the Profiles and Breeding Returns pages - the latter also allows you to download the full 1992-2022 returns in Excel or in pdf format. For the last four years, we have presented these as a heat map to colour code the risks associated with the long-term viability of each species in UK aviculture. The returns are designed to promote debate on the popularity and risks associated with particular species. They also help in choosing those target species for the coming year.

The Waxbill Finch Society was formed in 1991 with the following aims:

• To encourage the breeding of Estrildid Finches (Waxbills, Munias, etc.)
• To share information about proven breeding and feeding methods
• To help members locate, exchange, purchase or sell stock
• To build up stocks of captive-bred birds
• To assist members to contact one another at Branch Meetings or by telephone

This website is therefore designed both to promote our society and to help it achieve these aims. We also hope it will encourage potential members to develop an interest in these marvellous birds.

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