Tuesday, December 30, 2008

BRIDES TO BE

I have posted before about the birds I care for in the Haven. As with all animals, from time to time some have to be replaced. In the last year both the Violaceous Euphonia Euphonia violacea, and the Peters Twinspot Hypargos niveoguttatus, males have lost their mates. I have found them some replacements at last. Whenever I have new animals arrive they have to undergo a thirty day quarantine before they can come into contact with existing animals. So for the last thirty days I have had a large bird cage next to my desk. Last week I moved the cage up into the Haven so that the two females could begin to get used to their new surroundings.


This is the least stressful way of moving them. Also birds that are reared in a cage tend to have underdeveloped flight muscles so you do not want to just set them out in a huge space immediately. After a week the cage door is opened and the birds are left to find their way out in their own time. The cage is a safe space to them so if they become stressed in the larger space they will have the ability to return to the cage, I will leave the open cage there for another week.
This is what their new home looks like......


Quite a step up from a cage!
Of course as soon as I bought the cage in with the two females inside, the two males who were already in residence got very excited. There was a lot of whistling and showing off (seems all men are the same! :) ) The male Violaceous Euphonia has stayed in very close attendance.


Clearly he doesn't want to wait for the girls to get used to things, he has been trying to work out how to get into the cage ever since they arrived.


The male Peters Twinspot, a real Prince Charming, and a personal favorite of mine, is much more circumspect, he watches, longingly, from a respectful distance.


How could she resist such a handsome fellow?


Tomorrow is the big day when I open the cage door. Hopefully all will go well. It is quite an adjustment going into this huge space.

We also have Button Quail Coturnix chinensis in the Haven, today I spotted one of the females sitting on eggs.


Photo Credits - CJT

10 comments:

Kathie Brown said...

Celeste, where are these birds native to? That quail is very well camoflaged in the last photo. I hope there will be chicks!

Anonymous said...

Interesting looking birds..I love your work stories...The male does look very excited, I hope the ladies will approve. The enclosure is really wonderful...

restoration42 said...

Your camera is inspiring serious envy. Happy New Year and thanks for your comments about my boy Max.

Cherie

Rambling Woods said...

A Death In The Blogger World

A blogger friend lost her husband suddenly last Sunday night. I thought it would be nice to go and leave a message for her on her blog...You may know her as 'mommanator' at grannies ramblings

gtyyup said...

What beautiful birds and what a wonderful Haven they have to live in. Hopefully the lovely couples will get along. Very interesting and am looking forward to more stories!

Celeste said...

Kathie - The Euphonia is a South American fruit eater and the Twinspot is an African finch.

Michelle - The difference in personality between the two males is so funny. The Euphonia is so brash and in your face and the Twinspot is so shy and polite! I think you can guess which one I prefer!! :)

One Red Horse - I must admit I am still somewhat overwhelmed by my camera! I will certainly take a while to get to grips with it but thank you for your kind words :)

Gtyyup - I hope they get on too - there will definitely be more stories.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

What a beautiful space for all these birds...and humans alike. One of my most favorite things to do has been to visit aviaries and just sit, listen, and observe for hours, if possible.

Wonderful pictures, too. I look forward to reading updates on all accounts (wink)

~Lisa
New Mexico

Celeste said...

Hi Lisa - It is a great area, with the added advantage that there are no predators!

Judy said...

Those will be (are, now) a couple of lucky lady birds, moving into that huge environment! They will have to learn to fly, now! And the males are so attentive, making them feel welcome!

Celeste said...

Judy - I was never a fan of caged birds but this is certainly a great space for them.