Chestnut capped brush finches (Arremon brunneinucha)

I purchased a supposed pair of these birds in the South of Holland late last year, i knew nothing about this species and was surprised to learn that they were classified as finches but moved into the Bunting/Cardinal group ! they look nothing like a finch also there feeding habits are softbill they dont even destroy the plants in the aviaries they spend most of there time searching for insects on the ground ! i had seen this species only once before several years ago when i visited a Dutch trader near the German border, after some investigating they turned out to be the same birds.
Well they have been trying to build a nest but have chosen a spot where it will not support a nest ! i tried to make a platform for them but they then stop building so removed it,
a while ago i found an egg on the floor followed by a second so i put them in the incubator and hey presto they hatched today 3-6-2018 weighing 3.1gr now the difficult job of hand rearing them.

Thank you Roy and Eric,
This pair will only eat seed if no other food is available, totally agree that they spend most of the time on the floor searching for food they keep the floor looking fresh by turning over everything and love demolishing a rotten tree trunk there behavior is more like those of Blackbirds and Laughing thrushes.
i will leave it at that for now as i am keeping records so that i can do an article on them.

Unfortunately 1 of the chicks was found dead this morning, i believe the cause was feeding too much too soon.

Sadly after looking very promising & more than doubled its weight the second chick developed breathing problems and died at 4 days old. very sad. my feeling is that the humidity was set too high !
I have managed to move the pair 2 flights over with a large box plant that has plenty more places to build a nest, hopefully they will like it.