White crowned Robin Chat - Cossypha albicapilla

Below is the pair (according to the seller) of white crowned robin chat that I purchase at the Bird Mart in Pomona today. I wasn't plan to buy this pair since I know nothing about them (beside eating insect as other Cossypha genus), but with the decent price and little impulse, I decide to get them. This is the only pair of its kind in the Bird Mart. The male is the one with ugly tail. He lost one of the front toe nail on the right and his back toe on the left is defected in a way that it hard for him to curve the back toe nail to grab the branch. The female is perfect. Just wonder how good the song of this specie compare to the white rumped shama as not much info about this specie on the internet.



Just update on the Hwamei that finish his molt:

H4N1 escape!

While cleaning the aviary today I didn't pay much attention to the bird and just think that since the bird is get used to me around the aviary, I could just leave the cage door open for couple seconds.  Boy, I was wrong! While turn around to grab the broom with the cage door open (btw, the door is small and near the ground.  The bird is perch up high in the aviary), the bird just flew out and perch on the lemon tree nearby.  My heart just skips a beat for that moment, hehe.  Had a shama bird escape, and witness and help my friend catch an escape bird before, I remain calm and not chasing the bird to try to catch it back.  This is very important if you have the bird escape accidentally.  Never chase the bird with a net to catch it!  The more you chase the farther the bird will fly away and might cause the bird too scare to remember its location and get lost and won't return.  I catch a gleam of the direction the bird heading out, and immediately hang the bamboo cage with the opposite sex (in this case, the male H1N1 shama) near the tree that the escape bird hide in.  I also bring several bamboo cages with plenty of live food inside and hang near the lemon tree.  With her favorite live food inside the bamboo cages around the area, I turn on the shama songs CD and sit back, relax (just kidding), and wait for her to go hungry enough to fly in the bamboo cage to catch her favorite insect.  Did I mention I also pray? hehe, I did!  Losing a bird, especially the white-rumped shama is devastating to my breeding project, and certainly the bird won't be able to survive outside environment for a few days where crow, hawk, and mockingbird can eat or scare the shama, plus there won't be enough insects to eat.  Luckily, after about 2 hours of agony waiting, she flied into one of the bamboo cage to eat an insect and I just walk up and close the cage door.
Lesson: Always pay attention to what we are doing around the bird cage/aviary.  Never too confidence that the bird won't try to escape if giving it a chance.  If escape, never chase it.  Just hang other bird of the same specie near its location (to keep it flies away) and also hang or place on the ground couple bamboo cages with its favorite food and water near by.  After couple hours, the bird will be either hungry or thirsty and will fly into the bamboo cage.  I am lucky to have H4N1 back into my aviary! :)

H1N1 and H4N1: update after molt

I think the male who born last year H1N1 is finished with his molting cycle.  The female of this 09 year H4N1 is almost finish her molting cycle.  The H1N1 currently has approx. 8.5in (9in from tip to end) which is about 1in longer than his first molt.  The H4N1 is about 4.5in on her first molt which still have not finish yet.  Hopefully her tail feather can get 5in. :)

 

Serama chicken as pets

This is the serama chicken, a smallest type of chicken in the world. He is approx. 14 months old. Weight is about 480gr which belongs to a class B category. Characteristic of the Serama is many but the main distinguish between Serama and other type of chicken beside the small size is the vertical wings and large chest with almost no back visible.  Because the Serama is very small and breed to be very friendly, it makes an excellent pets.  House the Serama can be small cage 24in x 12in x 12in for a single or a pair; of course, the bigger the better.  The one I have is no show quality but do pose a good characteristic of his type.  I'm in the process of finding him a mate. He is very docil and friendly. Whenever I'm at home, I let him roaming around the backyard. Due to small size, I won't let him roaming in the backyard all day unsupervised because of hawk or small raptor might catch him.

R.I.P the longtailed mockingbird

Don't really know why it died. I let the bird takes a bath early afternoon in the usual bamboo bath cage. After open the cage to allow the bird goes to the bath cage, I walk inside to do something else. Five minute later I came out and saw the bird laying down on the floor of the cage (not the bath cage) right at the entrance and could not move except what looks like it open the beak a few time to take some air or like something stuck inside the throad that it choked or could not breath. less than a minute since I saw what happens to the bird, it pass away. The bird is wet which it did take some bath but for unknown reason cause the bird died. I don't think the water is the cause even I use tap (city) untreat water because just few minutes earlier, I also give all my shamas the same tap water source for them to take a bath and none has any ill effect. The bird did take a bath a few times before, so I'm clueless of what happens. R.I.P!

(12/18/09) Note: I didn't want to update the picture of the dead bird back then, but what the heck... here it is:

H2N1 almost finish her molt cycle.

I call her Cleopatra as she is the Queen of all my shama collection and she is the first shama pair that I breed as I enter this hobby.

Frozen Ants Eggs

Recently, one of my bird friend found a source of frozen ant eggs, and he show me where to get them.  The frozen ant eggs is sell in Thai-Lao market and fortunately enough, I find near by Thai-Lao market that sells it.  The cost is $5 for a frozen package that weight about 226gr or 8oz.  So far, all the birds are happy to eat them.  Hope with those frozen ant eggs as additional food source, all the shama can boost up its energy and be better form this year.




























H4N1 sing:


H4N1 eats frozen ant eggs:


H5N1 takes a bath: