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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Yellow Rumped Seed Eater



Yellow Rumped Seed Eater or well known as Black Throated Canary, in its origin have been recognized in 7 [seven] different types, based on its origin area. The differences are in the color, shape and its song. The details of the difference is very limited, as you can only recognize it when they are placed together in the same place or close enough for us to see the differences. It is easier to see the differences if we could have those all kinds, but we can also can see those birds based on its pictures anyway. Some pictures belows may could show a little bit about the colors differential for us to get visualization or overview.


This pictures shows a kind of Yellow Rumped Seed Eater from Kenya origin. Their overall color is more brown, compare to other Yellow rump, which usually more gray in color. Another kind like this one, which have been introduced to Indonesia many years ago, used to be called by Indonesian birds lover as Kingstone or Senegal Black Throat. They had no black spots on the throat, but instead of that they have black color 'mustache' in the left & right side oh the throat, just like the mozambiq finch. Their sing abilities also not as good as the other kind.


This one in Indonesia used to be called as the Black Throat, from Boswana. The characteristics, which to be recognized by birds lover were black color in the throat is much more than other kinds, overall color is more gray than the brown, the white eye brow is duller that the upper kind/kenya or senegal. This kind has slighter body shape and also famous with its best singing abilities, covering the songs and the acts. Based on those superiorities, this kind became the most favorite one to be collected by birds lover in Indonesia. The higher price of this kind also automatically occurs.


The last picture is came from Southern Area [of Africa]. This kind is close to its relative, the Boswana origin, with darker gray colors, little bit bigger body diameter [looked more fatty] and different shape of head/top. The singing abilities is a little bit lower than the Boswana kind, as the song is too rapid in cadence and beats and the lower sound level.

Today, as some kinds of those Yellow Rumped Seeds Eaters, which have been introduced to Indonesia for few decades, have been lost in its details characteristic by the creativity of many breeders. So many kinds have been crossed to each kind, resulting so many hybrids, so we could not see clearly now where the differences are. But some original race in limited number is still exist in the hand of some limited breeders.

If you think you have other opinion or reference regarding those references on above, please do not hesitate to give and post your comments in the available space by clicking the comment's button below.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Singing Finches Today's News

The Singing Finches existence in Indonesia for the time being was not in good condition. It is difficult to find in the market the singing finches such as Black Throat, Gray Singing Finch/Edel Sanger, Mozambiq Finch/Yellow Eyes, Citrils, Lemon Finch, Gold Finches, Saffron, and many other finches which which used to be introduced to Indonesia couple decades ago. The birds is becoming rare.
Some reasons may be the trigger to this condition. The reasons were listed below;
* Avian Influenza
This is the major source of all matter, where the importer may found some difficulties regarding the importing document required.
* Red Listed
Some singing finches have been listed as endangered species in its origin country, this will influences the trading process, even if the birds are coming from the farms.
* Appreciation
The majority of birds exhibitions or championship in Indonesia now is excluding the class for these birds kind. This will decrease the interest of the birds lovers to have the singing finches.
* Breeder's Interest
In accumulation to those reasons on above have imposed the breeders in Indonesia to discontinue the breeding, as it have no more profit to gain.

This condition have an impact, as the economic theory, the price was the result of demand and supply balance. It always can be applied, the demand has been increased by the singing finches lovers that still looking these birds for their collection. The market is empty, there is no supply from the importer and the breeder is very limited in production [some breeders of these several singing finches is still exist today, it is a good faith, right?]. Now, the price has goes up. The rate is becoming higher, twice if we compare to couple years ago, before the avian influenza issue occurs.

Is there anyone wanna be the one to grows the population of the singing finches in Indonesia today? If you are the one, be a breeder of singing finches. At least join us in this community, surely your voice, opinion & acts has a signification ....

Friday, November 14, 2008

Orange Headed Thrush's Drunken Dance

Drunken Dance used to be acted by the Orange Headed Thrush [Zoothera Citrina] while it got provocated during singing. The birds lover in Indonesia for the time being has been caught in popularity to have this bird with the singing abilities to this condition.
Unfortunately, this bird could not sing its songs in good quality while in this condition. The songs was not vary, not too loud, unclear sound. Overall, the singing abilities is decreased. It is better to hear it singing in ordinary condition, because the songs is produced variously, the volume is louder, the sound clarity is excellent and the tone is good.
Just see in this [amateur] video capture presented here below. This picture was taken in the early of November morning in year 2008, in my home yard. That was awesome, right?



The closer we watch it, the more attractive it is doing its actions. Swinging the drunken dance, doing the body weaving and banging the head over left to right continuously while singing its high level sound frequencies.

Wanna know more than that? Just always keep in touch by viewing these pages in this site!

Cheers..

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Dances

Swinging the Attraction Dances
Just watch and see the video capture attached there.
That was the most attractive singing and dancing done by 5 months years old male black throat, to attract the nearest female next to him.
The dance used to be done by the male usually during breeding season. Sometimes it also acted in order to give a sign to the other male to stay away from his territory/defense act or as invitation for a fight.



Unfortunately, the capture is not long enough and the picture quality is not too good, as the result of the camera with a lot of limitations. But, at least it still could well informing, I guess so ...

Monday, November 10, 2008

Western & Southern Citril

Western Citril

Western Citril, has been introduced to Indonesia in the late of 90's, when the singing finches were being very popular among the bird lovers in Indonesia. They like this bird kind regarding its songs, which sung very loudly and the songs it self were as good as black throat or gray finch. The defective of them was only the lack of tempo when its sings. The tempo is too fast, too rapid, while most of the bird lovers use this bird for guiding the other birds to duplicate the songs or being a patron. If the tempo is too fast, it is very difficult for other birds to follow and record in the way of song duplicating. This is becoming a matter of reason why the popularity of citril [famously well known and named in Indonesia as Green Master] was becoming unpopular. In exception of that reason, some bird lovers and breeder is still love to care them for several reasons.

That matter has an effect, the less popularity means less value or not profitable no more. So, as the birds were not imported no more, it was becoming rare in Indonesia.
Some breeder also well noted that those birds were successfully crossed and produced some nice hybrids, came from the black throat, gray finch, green finch or canary.

Southern Citril

This southern citril also introduced to Indonesia, as well as its relative, the western citril. The different, physically, between western & southern citril is very limited. Usually the differential could not be seen easily and clearly by common bird lovers. Especially if the birds does not placed together at the same place and same time. Absolutely the experts could see its different at the first sight.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Grey Singing Finch/Grey Singer/White Rumped Seed Eater

Grey Singing Finch/Grey Singer[Crithagra/Serinus Leucopygius]
White-rumped Seed Eater

This bird also well known as the most close relative to black throated canary [Serinus Atrogularis], if we consider the shape, size, color, behaviour, singing ability and the song they produce.

Gray singing finch has been introduced to Indonesia since late 70's to early 80's, but it started much larger in number imported from nederland as one of country with a lot of finch breeder and also directly from Africa in 90's. Firstly I knew it in 1993, when one of the bird seller in Splendid, a bird market in Malang [see article: Splendid, a bird market], had been asked by a bird importer to assist him selling hundreds of this Gray singing finch [the bird lovers community in Indonesia used to call it Edel Zanger or shortly Zanger]. The offered price at that time was only Rp. 90.000,- each, without knowing the sexing.

Some hobbyist used to introduced this bird in a birds festival/exhibition/championship, but it was not producing a good result. It could not beat down the black throat abilities regarding its acts in singing, volume and the songs it sings.
Some breeders, especially the creative one of the finches breeder, had made the hybrids from it. They crossed or make hybrid with black throat [the most often], green singing finch [Mozambique finch (Crithagra Mozambicus Mozambicus or Indonesian used to call it Mozambique], or yellow eyes (Crithagra Mozambicus Granti) and also hybrid with canary. It resulting a very different types and lot of variants.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Saffron Finches

Brazillian Saffron [Sicalis Flaveola]

Classification: Order Passeriformes, Family Emberizidae
Characteristics: Length 15 cm (6 in). Forehead and Crown bright orange. Yellow Head. Greenish-yellow above, with dusky streaks on the mantle; under parts bright yellow. The female is duller above and considerably paler beneath. The older the birds become, the more the yellow and green colors intensify. Eyes dark brown, beak brownish-gray [lower mandible paler], legs deep pink.
Habitat: Scrubs, gardens, parks, forests, palm groves, etc.
Distribution: Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and into the Guianas. Introduced to Jamaica [About 1923].
Captivity: These friendly birds usually build their nest in a tree hollow, which is why they should be supplied with the closed type nesting boxes in the room aviary. Their clutch consists of 3 - 4 white eggs with just a few sparse black or gray. It is not unusual for them to have a few squabbles with other birds during the breeding season, and they may well inspect the nests of these birds too. This is why only one pair should be kept in an aviary, along with some of the sturdier finches that can look after them self. If you wish the birds to breed, it will absolutely necessary to supply a great many insects. Greens must not be forgotten either.

The Brazillian Saffron type on above is the more famous and familiar to the birds lover and breeder. It is common that the Brazillian Saffron were introduced to other country, together with other imported birds such as Gray Singing Finch, Green Singing Finch or Black Throated Canary.
The other Saffron is the smaller one as this article below.

Yellow Grass or Little Saffron [Sicalis Luteola]

Classification: Order Passeriformes, Family Emberizidae
Characteristics: Length 11.5 – 12.5 cm (4.5 - 5 in). As Sicalis Flaviola, with a pale olive head and upper parts, streaked with brown-black. The female is duller in coloration. Eyes dark brown, beak light gray, legs gray.
Habitat: Grassland, cliffs, and marsh border.
Distribution: Mexico to Argentina. Introduce to the Lesser Antilles.
Captivity: Excellent aviary birds. Their behavior resembles that of the Gray Singing Finch. The female lay and incubates 3 – 4 white eggs with dark brown spots. Incubation time 12 -13 days. After 2 weeks the young leave the nest. Both parents feed the youngsters. After 14 months they have the adult plumage. Next to a good Canary menu, insects and greens are essential.

Fr. M.Vriends

Old Yellow Vented Bulbul


Some friends of mine may questioning when they know that I also have a Yellow Vented Bulbul, ‘Pycnototus Goiavier‘ … The truth is, I believe its sound closely likes it nearest family, the Striped Head Bulbul, ‘Pycnototus Zeylanicus’, and it is so good to me to be a good teacher for my other Singing Birds to replicate the songs.

My little sister on 13th of February 2006, in Surabaya, where I put this bird in my parent’s residence, took the picture. She took it without any reason, she send it by email to me, when I used to work for P.T. Jababeka Konstruksi, a subsidiary company of P.T. Jababeka Tbk., in Jakarta.
When I received her blank email, with this picture only as attachment, I have no idea about it. I am still thinking, what is the reason she send me that picture and I never asked her about that. Weird thing, isn’t right huh? [But it reminded me that I still left something in Surabaya]


This picture, from the same bird, was taken on 28th of August 2008. Therefore, it is 2.5 years after. It looks the same. There are no changes, while it is getting older, physically also its singing ability. The greater change is only at its character. It is becoming a bad tempered, as it becoming an adult bird had passion and lust. It always bite my hand when I put mine into its cage for daily morning feeding & cleaning the cage. However, the strange thing is, it does not bite the woman’s hand who feed it. What a damn weird bird. Looks like it knew the gender of human, hehehe…

I bought this bird in about 2003 or 2004, as long as I could remember; when I used to work in Tretes, build a 3-storey big resort house building on the top of a hill with 23.000 sqm widespread contoured area. The previous owner of this bird was the Sate Seller in a place called ‘Blue Building’, in the hill’s foot where the waterfall named ‘Coban Rondo’ is located. This area also is the right place for birds regarding its weather conditions.
The deal price at that time was only 35.000 rupiahs, as it was cheap enough for the bird with that quality. I thought that was a good price in the country village, maybe, if we compare to the city’s price.

The bird is male; I thought so, had good physical conditions, brave and close friendly to human. Absolutely someone had grown it and hand feed it since it was a baby, so the result is it was greatly tamed.

I do not know why I like this bird so much that time. Maybe because of every time it saw me, it just suddenly says hello to me with its song by open its wings high and widely and throw a loud and long rolling sounds. Anyway, as the common bird’s lover did, I also sometimes get bored with it. The fact is, I still take care and have it until today.

In addition of that, when and since I started buy those Stripped Head Bulbuls for breeding purpose, I have to have this bird to keep and assist Bulbuls sing their good song. Even it was not correctly happened. The Stripped Head Bulbul in a group, more than two in number, could not have a good song. That is a fact. This is becoming my important experience to me. The Yellow Vented Bulbul was became malfunction. It is ok to me because it is irrelevant to the breeding purpose. Gladly I told my self, to keep me out of disappoint.

Splendid, a Birds Market

First time I re-started my hobby, Ornithology, in Malang, when I was a student in my fourth year in Institute, after I had stopped having and caring birds for a few years before. It was early 1993. That time also the early days of the birds market named Splendid was just opened. The seller had to move their birds from their old place [Comboran] that time, re-located, as instructed by the local government. This is what I could remember.

The place was not fully occupied yet, at the first day I came to the place. I started to buy one or two birds and started to know each other with some bird sellers. I remember those days I bought White-Rumped Shama or people used to called it Murray [Copsycus Malabaricus], Orange-Headed Thrush [Zoothera Citrina], Straw-Headed Bulbul [Pycnototus Zeylanicus]. I also still remember that the Orange-Headed Thrush was the first one I have of the kind I never had before and it was the best one until today, which I never ever had a chance to have the same quality like that again. Until I spent a lot of money, took time to find, with a zero result. Today, I still do regret why I should sell that bird. As I do remember, it had a lot of good song that came from other bird’s songs it replicated, lot of variances, brave to sing in any conditions, loud sound, very smart to record and duplicate other bird sound in short period and other good things from a quality bird.

The time being, the bird market had grown about three times bigger; it also means that the cash flows are getting bigger. It had peak around 1997 until 2003. The transactions seems goes down in early 2005, as the bird influenza became an issue and swept down a lot of bird lover interest, closed the gate of the imported birds and so the opponent [exported]. In addition of that, government also released some warning and regulation about the bird influenza, which restraint some bird’s market interest. The economic also took influence in 2005; the global oil rate gave impact.

This place also became the parameter of the Canary birds trading, covering the price/rate, the demand, the producer, etc. This market also was the biggest Canary center in Indonesia as many people in Malang became the Canary Breeder. They had distributed the product to entire cities and place in Indonesia, especially to Sumatera through Jakarta, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Bali as the biggest Canary consumer.

The weather and climate in Malang was very good and gave optimum conditions for the Canary breeding. It also supported by the social condition and behavior, where the people, especially the ornithologist and not least the opportunist [the pop up breeder] were running the small to large bird farms.

In this current date, the biggest cash of the birds trading were come from the trading of the Canary birds. That was the fact today. Just check it out. You can also get a very fair price of the Canary bird in Malang, especially in the Splendid bird market where the Canary birds are collected and pooled from around the town and countries.

Visit the market as I told the story on above and prove it… it will be a good experience to you. I guarantee that. Do not forget, I suggest you to come in Saturday and much better in Sunday, when the trading volume and the stock are fully larger. Good luck in hunting a quality birds in there… [ups, you can call me if you need further more info..]

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Challenging Things

First time I re-started my hobby, Ornithology, in Malang, when I was a student in my fourth year in Institute, after I had stopped having and caring birds for a few years before. It was early 1993. That time also the early days of the birds market named Splendid was opened. The seller had to move their birds from their old place that time, re-located, as instructed by the local government. This is what I remember.


The place was not fully occupied yet, at the first day I came to the place. I started to buy one or two birds and started to know each other with some bird seller. I remember those days I bought White-Rumped Shama or people used to called it Murray [Copsycus Malabaricus], Orange-Headed Thrush [Zoothera Citrina, as shown in the picture], Straw-Headed Bulbul [Pycnototus Zeylanicus]. I also still remember that the Orange-Headed Thrush was the first one I have of the kind I never had before and it was the best one until today, which I never ever had a chance to have the same quality like that again. Until I spent a lot of money, took time to find, with a zero result. Today, I still do regret why I should sell that bird. As I do remember, it had a lot of good song that came from other bird’s songs it replicated, lot of variances, brave to sing in any conditions, loud sound, very smart to record and duplicate other bird sound in short period and other good things from a quality bird.

The time being, the bird market had grown about three times bigger; it also means that the cash flows are getting bigger. It had peak around 1997 until 2003. The transactions seems goes down in early 2005, as the bird influenza became an issue and swept down a lot of bird lover interest, closed the gate of the imported birds and so the opponent [exported]. In addition of that, government also released some warning and regulation about the bird influenza, which restraint some bird’s market interest. The economic also took influence in 2005; the global oil rate gave impact.

This place also became the parameter of the Canary birds trading, covering the price/rate, the demand, the producer, etc. This market also was the biggest Canary center in Indonesia as many people in Malang became the Canary Breeder. They had distributed the product to entire cities and places in Indonesia, especially to Sumatera through Jakarta, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Bali as the biggest Canary consumer.

The weather and climate in Malang was very good and gave optimum conditions for the Canary breeding. It also supported by the social condition and behavior, where the people, especially the ornithologist and not least the opportunist [the pop up breeder] were running the small to large bird farms.

In this current date, the biggest cash of the birds trading were come from the trading of the Canary birds. That was the fact today. Just check it out. You can also get a very fair price of the Canary bird in Malang, especially in the Splendid bird market where the Canary birds are collected and pooled from around the town and countries.

Visit the market as I told the story on above and prove it… it will be a good experience to you. I guarantee that. Do not forget, I suggest you to come in Saturday and much better in Sunday, when the trading volume and the stock are fully larger. Good luck in hunting a quality birds in there… [ups, you can make contact or call me if you need further more info ... hehehe.]