I have been introduced to care birds since I was a kid by my grand father, indirectly. He had several birds of pigeon kinds, such as: Spotted Dove [Streptopelia chinensis], Eurasian Collared Dove [Streptopelia Decaocto].
My own real 'career' in ornithology was started when I was in elementary school that time, by caring some pigeons/doves, buying some munias and weavers from 'mobile' birds seller, which using bicycle he brings a lot of munias and weavers. Some of those munias were stained by water base colors, pretty weird and he thinks it's funny for the kids. I don't think so. It was very stupid.
Couple years later, I was in junior high school, and this time was the beginning of my real ornithology session. I started to buy Black Headed Bulbul/Kutilang [Pycnototus Aurigaster],
Yellow Vented Bulbul/Terucuk [Pycnototus Goavier],
Straw-Headed Bulbul/Cucak Rawa [Pycnototus Zeylanicus] and by the time goes by, I went into other kind, such as White-rumped Shama/Murai Batu [Copsychus Malabaricus], Oriental Magpie Robin/Kacer [Copsycus Saularis], Pied Bushchat/Decu [Saxicola caprata], Black-naped Oriole/Kepodang [Oriolus chinensis], Black-faced Laughingthrush/Poksay [Garrulax Affinis], Streaked Laughingthrush/Samho [Garrulax lineatus],
Asian Pied Starling/Jalak Uret [Gracupica Contra], Common Fiscal/Cendet [Lanius Collaris], etc. Some of the birds I bought in Kupang Bird Market, some of them I got from Bratang Bird Market and the rest I took from some birds sellers in some places around in Surabaya.
This picture is showing some of my collections in 1985, when I lived in Surabaya. Start from the left in the picture, inside the yellow small cage is my first 'Cendet', a Common Fiscal [Lanius Collaris], which is very stern, as I could remember. It seems always bite the hands close to it. The next one, in the middle, in the natural/brown cage, is 'Murai Batu', the White Rumped Shama [Copsychus Malabaricus]. This Shama is the smaller kind, its origin is Java. It has smaller size, shorter tail and shallower black feather in the neck. Its songs also not as good as its close 'cousin' which came from Malaya [Sumatra or Malaysia]. In Java, they used to called it 'Larwo', instead of 'Murai Batu' name. This kind, in Java, also already rare in the market or in the collector's hand and I think it was extinct by huge exploration during 80's to 90's era. The last one, first from the right, in the white cage, is the White Rumped Shama, a bigger kind, which come from Sumatra.
This 'Larwo' is very aggressive bird, it sings very often and very loud, since the dawn till the sun is set. It had good enough song any some variances, that was as I remembered. I got it from a bird seller who had a bird shop and he is a bird foods seller also, a small kiosk in Jalan Sumatra, Surabaya, a street side kiosk. Today, the kiosk is already swapped by local govt as they have planned to clean the city and try to make the city looks clean, neat and tidy in every place. Unfortunately, as they are the member of Copsychus family, they should be fed with Ant's Eggs or Crickets as they were the full Insects Consumers. This is the worst part, this dependence of high protein is making me always hunting for this bird food, which sometimes the availability in the market is unstable. I will takes time, effort and more money for this matter.
Once again, a friend of mine invites me to visit his store, located in Bratang Bird Market, Surabaya, where he sells a lot of high quality product of fretwork/carved bird cages. He would like to show me some new bird cages, just arrived from Solo, Jepara's Carving Artist products. The first one is a cage with carving that tells a story about war in Chinese ancient history. Well finished in very colorful and feels too bright for me. Very eye catching Cage.
The second picture is showing the cage, carved with a story tells about the legend of 8 [Chinese] gods. The carving itself is very good, better than the first one, but it has different carves style. The texture is fine, not too many bass-relief/bulge as it appears in the previous cage in the first picture. It is carved in a plain thin wooden material, opposite to the first one. The colors for the finishing works also softer, better color according to my opinion.
The next one is a cage, round shape and the size is bigger than the previous cages size. This size is designated for White-Rumped Shama [Copsycus Malabaricus], which has long tail or also can be used for Straw-Headed Bulbul [Pycnonotus Zeylanicus]. It carves shows no story but theme about the feline family; the lion, tiger, and their kind. The carving quality is fair enough, as fair as its natural finishes.
I like this simplicity theme. But in regards to its weight, I consider that in daily basis usage, it is not wise to use this cage. It will softly damage your nerve and muscular. It is too heavy to be simply lifted, even for a sturdy one. :-) The picture is showing the crown only and the full picture of the cage is available in the next picture.
Last but not least, the last one is a funny cage. Its carving theme is about a cartoon or comic, named 'One Piece'. This cartoon character was ever been a favorite one of my daughter. Anyway, this cage is not my favorite. Just for fun.
