Love Bird

See this one, a love bird of mine, it is a hybrid. Seems its parents were a green peach face crossed with red face yellow love bird. Its has yellowish overall feathers color, some green, blue and little bit red. White face and the body shape looks like the peach.

I put it in the metal bars cage, framed in the artist painted and engraved acrylic frame, as seen in the picture. The cage is heavy enough because of the mounted accessories, the acrylic. Plastic feed bowls and perch installed inside.

The painting in the cage is telling a Chinese story, seems it is about the legend of the 8 Gods [pak thian - I am not sure about this Chinese in spelling or writing]. A very good artist who painted this. The colorful picture with the good line for the detail. Some relief in engraving surrounding the picture.

This acrylic type of cage is becoming popular around year 2000 and only last for about 4 to 5 years in popularity after that. Some bird lovers had turned their back from this type. They have found out that this acrylic would not last longer when gets exposed in the sunlight in daily basis and for the long period. Some will be cracked and some will be uprooted as the glue could not hold no longer. I think it is the same problem worked on other material used for cages, if they are exposed under the sun. It is only a matter of mode or fashion cage, where they have a life time for any popularity.

Birds Bathing

Every bird needs to take a bath, just like other animals. There are 2 ways for birds in its nature/wild for taking bath, using water or using dust/sands. The function of each function is different. When they use water for bathing, they will cleans all the dirt. Continued with makes its feathers become neat by using beaks and also puts the wax from its rear body part on the feathers, to make it becomes waterproof, protect it from the rain. This also has function to create the warmer body condition at night, that's why sometimes they take bath in the afternoon.
When they take the sand or dust for bathing, it has function to remove the mites or lice to get away from their feathers. In the wild, in its nature, sometimes they come to an ants nest, the ants nest produced a gas, kind of Nitrogen, which will removes or kills the mites or lice, so they will bathing on that.

The sample of the bird when they are taking a bath can be seen in this short video clip:

In Indonesia, there were some methods of Bird's Lover in bathing their birds. Especially in using water media. Some of them use water sprayer and directly spray it on to the bird while the bird is in their cage. Some 'hi-tech' bird lover use bathing cage, as seen in the picture on above.

The image on above shows an Orange Headed Thrush - Zoothera Citrina moved from its cage get into the bathing cage for taking a morning bath, before exposed in the morning sun. The Round shape cage is made from bamboo material, made in Solo, Mid Java, bottom part is made from multiplex material, polyurethane finishes. The bathing cage is made from wooden fro the frame, bamboo bars and zink plate oil paint finishes for the water tray and all parts.
Another bathing cage type, used by Asian Pied Starling 8 weeks old Chick, as seen in the picture below, is made from Teak Wooden Frame, Natural Color Polyurethane Finishes, with Aluminum Bars. This one is better than the other one as seen in the picture on above, of course the price rate is higher.

When the bird has instructed to move from their cage and get into the bathing cage, the empty cage give an opportunity for the owner to take care of it. They can remove the waste in the bottom of cage, clean the cage, replace or add the food or drinking water. Those activities would not bothering the birds. Just compare it if the bird is still in the cage, the bird may get nerve.

The bathing cage can be made by some materials. Some cages uses wooden frame and bamboo bars, oil base finishes. Other bathing cage is made from teak wooden frame with natural color polyurethane finishes and aluminum bars, this one is more expensive in price. Limited cage uses all aluminum components. Seem this last one is too expensive and too hot when it exposed by sun rays, even this might be more durable.

This bathing cage has a aluminum or steel zink plate, shaped tray for water reservoir. An arched perch is installed crossing the tray, the middle part of the perch is sink in the water, so the bird still can feel the water in the foots/legs and get bathing if they did not want to get into the water in bottom of the tray.

Some bird lover also create a larger cage for bird to fly around a little bit, with metal sheet tray shaped in the bottom and filled with find grain sands for bird to take a sand bathing.

If you see the image below, you can see this Orange Headed Thrush is in the bathing cage, it jumps into the water and take a bath happily. It has been well trained since it was youngster chick, learned the instruction how to move from its cage and get into the bathing cage, and so the other opposite ways around.

In Indonesia, it is common to use this method, bird bathing using bathing cage. Usually they're doing it in the morning. Some of them used to expose the bird under the morning sun first before bathing, some other bird lovers used to put into bathing first and the morning sun exposing will be done after that.
Some bird lovers also believe that gives a bird the night bathing is helpful, to increase the ability of the bird for the competition purpose. Especially in singing ability, the action & sound and performance during the competition.

FOCUS - A Bird's Cages & Accessories Seller

I have visited a bird market, Bratang, in Surabaya couple days ago. I got little chit-chat with some sellers, which becoming good friends of mine since more than a decade ago. I have no aim to go there, I just miss them, and it is been so long I did not came to visit this bird market. I have been busy with the job I worked last year. Even my farm has to be disbanded or frozen for a while because of that.

This one is 'Focus', which specialize in providing quality bird cages, especially the artist made cage [with full relief carved all over] delivered from Solo or Jepara. Those places were famously branded as the best place that breeds so many carver or engraver artists since last age, after the Balinese. Their engraves products were well known better than any other places in Indonesia, more detail, smoother and much more raises 3D effect. Of course the finishes also has pure effect at the final stage.
In the store I can see some plain paint finished cages in many colors and I could see that those are surely high quality cages [ups, please consider that the price is always follows the quality ... isn't right? lol ...]

Some cages accessories also available and stored in the display cupboard. I could see cage curtain, hook/hangers, clipper, perch & socket, carved bit, etc. in there. Unfortunately I could not find a lot of engraved cages at this time, there were only several cages of that kind is available. When I asked why there is only limited commerce to the seller, he said the the order was booked but the products were not delivered yet, may in the next couple weeks it will transported from Solo. Hopefully I will have time and chance to capture some pictures of those cages later.

The seller was my colleague. I met him first time in 1999. He came to my farm that time, looking for a yellow rumped serins, lets called it 'black throat' chick, a cock one. He got a good one chick from me. Since that time, he was becoming a good friend of mine then. Usually I met him in Bratang bird market or when I go to the bird exhibition in Surabaya or Malang area, where he also put his commerce cages and accessories in the occasional bazaar. For several times I bought birds from him and he delivered it and also visited to my residence.

Cockatoo [Kakatua]

See this picture, it was my present new collection. A Small kind Cockatoo. Seem this bird is listed as forbidden for trading. I got this from a friend who's working as the security guard working in the building, where I am working. He found it in the concrete deck roofing in the top of the building. There was the chains in the leg, which already cut [looks like it had cut it perfectly by its strong beak]. Because of this friend of mine is not interested to take care of it, so he offered me to take care and I took his offer.
I have to buy a cage for it. It must be big and strong enough for it. So I go to a shop, buy a hexagonal Aluminum cage and the price is higher than I expected, but what else can I say, I still have to buy it.

First time it came, delivered to my home, there is only a free and available cage [for a love bird, usually] made from small steel wire, for it. Absolutely, it is only took one hour for its strong beak to freed it self by cut some bars. Fortunately, it didn't want to fly away. It was just perching on some other bird's cage and makes some damage on it.
It is a very smart bird and very crowd bird. Able to speak some words, maybe the previous owner have taught it very well. It is very noisy when it feels hungry, and always when I was late to feed it. Scream out some noisy words and sounds [very lucky it stored in the big house building, so it would not disturb the neighbors].

Fantastic, when it only needs couple hours to start some damages in its new aluminum cage, the aluminum sheet mattress. Then it started chewing its feeding bowl made of plastic. Maybe it needs something to keep the sharpness of its beaks, or keep the length of its beaks from growing. But the damage will apparently increased by the time it feels hungry. I have to give it something to be chewed then.

I am just looking for the sub species or kind of this cockatoo. With a full white color, as seen in the picture, a little bit pink in the chicks and crest, also some kind of yellowish in the back of tail. The body size is about 230 mm and totally about 350 mm from beak to tail. Where is its origin? I do not know yet. I try to find out later. At least I have to know something about it. If you already knew about it, please post your comment and just let know it.

Anyway, basically I did not really wanna have this bird. It is not my favorite one. I just try to know it well closely, how to take care of it, what is its habit, etc. Surely, someday someone will take over it, at the day I feel I already understood everything about it well. Or when I have no time for the bird no more.

Singing Finches for Sale

When you have decided to buy birds, it is now the time you made a promise, a swear, a commitment that you have to have time to be given for those birds. It can be couple minutes, hours, or depend to what kind of bird you have, how many birds, what kind of cage, what is the purpose of those birds are for, etc.
Taking care of the birds is different matter than just to feed them. It is a complex matters of caring the birds. Start from the feeding, cleaning the cage, checking their condition, etc. Absolutely, it takes time.
Once you think you can make it, you decide to give some of your time for it, continuously in daily basis. But, as the days goes by, time has changes your daily basis schedule because of so many other things in your life. When that happened, you realize that you may not be able no more to take care your birds again. So you decide to sell your birds or give your birds to another person who can take care of it.
This is what happen to me now. As I have very bussy for doing my job, the birds looks very terrible. Less of attention. So, now I have to decide to sell a lot of them. Some of it were Black Throat Canary/Yellow Rumped Serins, Grey Singing Finch and Yellow Singing Finch. Those three birds used to be a patron birds for my other singing birds before. I feel uncomfortable for this, coz today, it is very difficult to find quality finches birds in here. some may available in the market, but ussualy they are only second grade birds and useless for any purpose, you can not use for the breeding purpose and some time they do not want to sing no more. Too old or too fat. Regretfully I say and still I have to do this.
If you want to take over it, just check these birds and see their pictures in this link: http://finchpolis.blogspot.com/2009/06/birds-for-sale-lizards-grey-finch.html

Bird Food Seller

The picture on above is a common profile picture of bird food seller in Indonesia. Some of them may has smaller scale, and some of them are bigger. They survived along the crisis, as they live from the birds lover demands for feeding the birds. They will always exist as long as the bird lovers are exist. The place usually looks terrible, close like a skid row.

There are so many varies of the item they sell. Some bird foods are can be stored for days, some will be spoilt and out of date within 24 hours and some will stays longer than a month.

As seen in the picture, the two wooden boxes in the front are container for Crickets. One of the important insects used for extra fooding by birds lover. Especially for the exhibition or championship purpose. These crickets can be stored for couple days in the box.

The other important insecta is 'Kroto', the [Big] Ant's Eggs, as its purpose is same as cricket. It can be seen in the picture stored in the shallow and wide wooden box behind the cricket's box, in a higher rack. This ant's eggs is often becoming rare, as the ants habitats also becoming smaller, the trees that fits its ecosystem is getting rare also. This ant's eggs also quick to become spoilt, so this food is prepared in daily basis.

Some birds lovers believe that Grasshopper will relieves the bird's sing ability. So, one or two places provides this bird's food, but usually it is only available during the rainy season.

Worm, Maggots & Helminth. The [soils/ground] worms also available for feeding. Some kind of maggots are ready in stock. This worm & maggots can be stored for weeks, look how they store it in shallow boxes in high stacks.

The most common fruit always available in the bird's food sellers is Banana. Usually only one [white] kind of Banana used for birds food.

Bird food made by factory also available in there. The brands are varies. There is so many factory's product for bird food. You can not remember all of those brands name.

Orange Headed Thrush Sings & Dances

I have made articles about Orange Headed Thrush and posted in here couple months ago. Including severals pictures and 'silent' video capture. Certainly, it was unsatisfied, so I put couple 'very short' videos of Orange Headed Thrush [Punglor Merah]. The video shows the Orange Headed Thrush while in actions, it is singing & dancing, like a drunken bird. But I think it still will not satisfies you based on the video duration, which is very short.



The bird is always singing everyday. From the morning to the evening. Its voice is very loud. The sound is crystal clear. Its dance style is good enough. But the style is not an 'up to date' dance style, as many people today prefer to look for the rapid movement dance style. It is weird to see how people can turns their mind set all the times regarding their mode to the bird exhibition for the time being.

Lizards & Grey Finch's Song

Do you wanna have quality birds? What about this review? Try it and absolutely you'll like it ....

This image is showing the chicks of Lizards Canary, male, being in the 'mastering' proccess. They were placed near the patrons. From left to right: Lizard [2 months old chick], Grey Finch [a year old], Lizard [4 months old]. Actually, the patron was not just the Grey Finch only, I also put a Love Bird, a Weaver, a bar Winged Prinia and a Yellow Rumped Serin/Black Throated Canary for this 'Songs Reproduction Proccess'. The one I made before, last year, took fully a year of period to made the lizards copied the songs. This only applied at pure lizard, as long as I knew. When I tried to make a different song produced by hybrid Lizard [crossed with fancy or local canary], it took 3-4 months only. Once it can sings a little bit louder when it reached 5 months old, it was a fact that it produced quiet good reproduction songs of Yellow Rumped Serins & Prinia.

This first one is a Lizard Canary, Sex: Male, Age: about 2 - 3 months old. It is now starting to sing in low volume, a wind sound like. It has no full yellow cap. Came from pure couple of Gold Lizard parents, the second successful breed. The cock Lizard is 1 year and a half old and the hen is 2 years old. It was funny how it learns how to pick the foods as it has been abandoned since it got 4 weeks old age, as the parent has been taken from it. I realy concern to watch over it learns how to feed itself. If it Could not do it, then it will be die soon.

This is the patron bird, a Grey Singing Finch, used to be called 'Edel Sanger' in Indonesia. It sings loud enough and rapidly, and so very often during the day. Enough for the 'students' to follow its songs. The Grey Finch, for the time being is becoming very rare in Indonesia. The import tap already locked off and the breeders prefers to breed Yellow Rumped Serins rather than this Grey Finch [commercial reasons].

The last image is a Lizard Canary, Male, 4-5 months. Used to sing quarter to half loud as compared to adult sounds. It is the same breed as the other bird in the image on second above. It was the first one. So it came from the same couple Gold Lizard. It has full yellow cap, but the yellow colors on the cap and whole body seems paler than its brother. Duller yellow color. Looks like some influence in fenotype of Silver Lizard.

Lizard Canary

Once I had seen the picture of Lizard Canary, when I bought a book about how to breed canary, in around 1993 or 1995, I'm just falling in love to this bird kind. I thought it was very admirable bird by the feather's color and pattern type, which so unique. Then for couple years later, I found another pictures of this bird.
In 2005, I started buy this bird, in Malang. It was a male one, with a very loud sound when it is singing. I brought this bird to Jakarta, as I have to stay and work by assigment in there for couple years.
When I feel get bored with this bird, I just handed over this bird to the friend of mine in Surabaya, which still doing the breeding of canaries. I thought this bird should stay and had a positive purpose, better than in the hand of the person who just get its songs only for everyday.
It was a quiet right decision, because after he received this bird, he bought several similar birds for breeding the pure lizard strain.
When I think I had now, the time to be spent for the breeding, I just asked him to give a couple of lizard, product of his farm. So I got a couple to start. I choose to start with chicks, so I can make a different sound and song of it when it is grew up later. This couple is becoming the starter birds of my farm for the lizard strain. It is very miserable moment for me, to wait for the sound its creates, as I had put a yellow rumped serins and a prinia close to it everyday for the song's patron. I have to wait for about more than 1 year to hear its loud sounds of the male, and 1 year and a half more for the hen for starting lays its first eggs. Whoa, what a long waiting period. It was more than the average required time for common other local canaries to learn the songs [usually its only takes about 6 months].

I put some images of the birds I breed. You can see an unique breed color mutant in the image, as the hen is a gold lizard [also the cock's], but it produced a chick with little bit close to silver lizard. The chick in the picture is about 25 days old, and it is now about 8 weeks old in this early June 2009. I think it will changes its plumage's color when it grew adult, after its first moulting, first when I realize its different color. I do not know yet, I just wait for that.
For the time being, it is starting to learn how to sing and I put some patron birds for this purpose. A main song will be came from a Grey Finch, a Weaver for scratchy sound and a Prinia for additional twitty sounds. I hope all of the patron's sounds/songs will be coppied permanently then. I just have to wait until a year at least for having see and hear the result of this unique effort.

Kupang Birds Market, Surabaya

The pictures is showing how the Kupang Bird Market, in Surabaya, is looks like. It is not a permanent bird market. The place looks so dirty, not because of the trash, but the non permanent building they made is so bad. Doesn't seems neat. Not well organized. I think someone or the authorized body/government shall look at this side and takes action for making it looks better. This place shall requires a very big improvements.
The picture is taken in early of May 2009. The view is still the same as 20 to 30 years ago, an exception I may noted is only for the number of bird sellers, it is might had been increased or decreased. I am not really sure about that. This conditions also applied to the traded birds kinds. Some kind of traded birds is already banished, such as some imported birds like Hwa Mei or Melodius Laughing Thrush [Leucodioptron Canorum, formerly Garrulax Canorus], Poksay or Black Throated Laughing Thrush [Garrulac Chinensis], Sanma or Grey-Side Laughing Thrush [Garrulax Caerulatus], some Robins, etc. Since 90's, some new bird kinds were exposed and exploited, some is still exist and the others was ended into the blue.
In the picture, we can see the left side is temporary birds market and the right side is the parking area. Formerly, both sides of the road is full with bird sellers since 90's. After 00's, in 2007, the yard on the right side was used to be built a commercials building, it seems a mall I think, so they had to move from there. Today, the building's construction will be finished and I am sure that all the bird sellers will be moved also as soon as the grand opening of the building. The other road, next to this, is also used as the bird market, the original one before. It is will stays there as the 80's era.

In this present day, the bird sellers are not just selling birds, they also sells cages as well as they are selling the birds. Even the number of the cages they are selling for the time being is as much as the birds it self. It was a funny phenomenon. Shall we call it birds market, or now we shall call it bird's cages market? LoL. The cages they sell are only the second or lower grade in quality and price. For sure, you will not be able to find any best quality cages in here. Even the birds they sells, most of the birds available in here is the raw materials, the chicks or the wild caught. For quiet sometimes, if you are patient enough to check it one by one, or takes some time to look around as approaches, in such a fortune way, you may find a good one. A quality bird for exhibition purpose. Only if you will gives an effort.
Bird's food also available in here. The most famous quality bird's food in Kupang bird market were the white type Banana and the Ant's Egg. If in the other bird markets in Surabaya you can not find good Banana, so you must try this place then. The Ant's Egg, it is a must bird food, especially for the carnivora birds, which takes insect as the main food. In this place, the Ant's Eggs are the best in quality. But do not forget the Economy Law, the price goes along the quality.

The last image, it shows some big cages contains munias. The white breast munias and brown streaks breast munias, the common munias in Java origin. These birds usually will be bought by childrens, as some [stupid] bird sellers are using water base colors for coloring them, to make it full of colors and try to make or attract the kids are to be interested to buy. In the end of 90's, some weaver's kinds also sold in here [it is rare now] for the children's market also. As the years passed by, some bird lovers had learnt that the weaver could sing as well as the other singing birds. If the weavers are tamed since they were chick for then they were placed near a patron bird, absolutely they will sing the same song kind when they reach the adult age. It is also increase up the price of the weavers as it is also made the weavers became one of the favourite birds, a collectable.
I have visited this bird market last month and I found some chicks of the Asian Pied Starlings, Orange Headed Thrush and Chesnut-Caped Thrush in there. I bought an Asian Pied Starling at that time, a month old chick with a ring around its leg, as it is made me sure that the bird is a product of a farm and not a wild caught.