Softbill
Softbill is an artificial designation used in U.S. aviculture for any species of bird that is not a parrot. The most commonly kept softbills are finches, canaries, doves, and pigeons.
Softbills generally eat seed, and are generally kept not so much for companionship as for show, for breeding as a hobby, or in the cases of finches and canaries, for their songs.
In UK aviculture, softbill is restricted to birds that do not eat seed as the major part of their diet. The softbills in this sense mainly fall into 3 groups:
- Insectivorous birds, such as flycatchers, eat mostly insects.
- Fruit-eating birds or frugivores, such as turacos, eat mostly fruit.
- Nectar feeders, such as hummingbirds and sunbirds, eat mostly nectar.
Canaries
Canaries are large finches from the Canary Islands. A popular pet bird, they've been bred from the original greenish-brown birds into numerous breeds, for song, feather color, and feather appearance, the most familiar of which are the yellow breeds.
Finches
Finches are any of several small species of seed-eating bird kept in aviculture. In the United States, the finches commonly kept are grass finches such as the society finch and zebra finch, both of which have been bred to various color mutations, and the waxbills.
In Europe, such large, common European finches as the Bullfinch, Chaffinch, and Hawfinch are kept as well.
Pigeons
Pigeons have been bred for centuries, and indeed were even bred by Charles Darwin as part of his observations for his theory of evolution. All of the various breeds of domestic pigeon are descended from the common rock dove, actually a pigeon, now familiar in cities. Some European breeders keep certain species of large ground pigeon as well.
Doves
Doves are members of the same family as pigeons—in fact, there's little or no scientific basis for the use of "dove" for some species and "pigeon" for others. Generally, though, doves are smaller than pigeons and do not have a homing instinct. It's easier to find more species of dove than pigeon on the market in most areas, but fewer varieties, due to lack of specialized breeds in doves.