This time I have to race a new Asian Pied Starling, 5 weeks old chick, because the previous one I have made before has been taken by a friend of mine. The previous one was 5 to 6 months old when it taken from me and equally I have race it since 5 weeks old. It has adopted the songs of Love Bird, Common Sparrow, Weaver, Black Headed Bulbul and its genuine songs & sounds. I put it in the new light grey color bamboo cage, from Focus, a bird cage seller, which the dimension of the cage is wide enough for it. The cage quality is very good and it is very natural as the price I have paid for it, is more than fair, very high, compared to other same cages. The cage is as seen in the picture above. Neat, clean, seems very ductile and also durable.
I have planned to fill it with the songs of woodpecker, blue-crowned hanging parrot, love bird, weaver, sparrow [this one usually automatically will be duplicated as sparrows are around my house and often in daily basis come down into my back yard]. So, I am now ready and have procured those patron birds to be put close to this Asian Pied Starling. I planned to keep them close at least for 4 to 6 months ahead.
I bought the bird in Kupang Bird Market, in Surabaya. There are a lot of them in there, in a bird seller. Most of them are chicks, 4-6 weeks old and absolutely product of several bird farms. It is very difficult to find Asian Pied Starling in the wild, of course in the Java Forest. This bird kind already extinct in its natural habitat, Code Red in the list. It very lucky, because there are so many breeders has been successfully grew them in their farm's cages today, so now we could find it in the common bird market easily.
I ask the seller, how to select the male, what is the different, physically, while they are chicks. The seller explain a little bit and then I start to aim it. I choose one of them, which already could be independent, so I don't have to give hand feeding, and I choose the most tamed, friendly one and brave with human's hand.
It took about 3 days to tame and train it to move into the bathing cage every morning, while I can clean its cage. A little bit nervous, that was the first expression of the chick when I put it first time into the bathing cage. But as I have experienced before, many times I race the Asian Pied Starling since 5 weeks old, they were smart birds who can learn single thing we train, faster than any other bird. As you can see it in the picture on above, the bird is starting to adapt in the water, try to get water in the bottom of the cage.After several weeks I keep and take care of the chick, I feel that the chick was a little bit too old for couple weeks. Means it should be younger if we want to form its sounds/songs. Seems the chick is already 7 weeks old, not 5 weeks as I have predicted [there is no reference available from the seller, neither the breeder, regarding the ages of the bird]. But I think positively, it still can learn and duplicate and make a good copy of other birds sound. I always expect that and wait for the prove. I will be patiently wait for the next several months ahead, until I can see and hear it sings its sounds.
