I am no expert on bird identification. The below photos wasn't commented by me, but some pointers I received from a fellow hobbyist. There was this guy who says that he supplies the "true" Oriental White Eye. So, how to know the difference? Some say by the voice. But identification of birds through voice is a very specialised skill. I, for one would be quite blur on this, so I would leave it to the experts to thrash it out. But for those who may take an interest on physical difference of sub-species of the Zosterops......
Follow up to the escaped Puteh event - around 7pm, saw a tiny bird flew out of the car porch when I went outside. That fella has to be the escaped bird. So, since he came back after all, I rig up the trap and just left it at that.
Woke up around 1am today and saw the little fella was safely in the trap:
A quick clean up of an old cage, top up of food and water and hope he is happy. Anyway this bird is destined for an aviary life (booked by a friend already), together with the female. Hope he does well in his new home later on ;)
Since I am touching on the topic of giving away Putehs, this is one fella up for adoption (also booked already). Thought I might as well document him on film and write a little about him. He was bought from a bird shop in K.L., randomly picked by a friend and "buka" a little at home 2 weeks later. Can't remember how long I had him, but it must have been only months. He does not appear to have a very long "buka" (some folks call "petik") but he made it up by being quite steady - meaning he is willing and eager to sing at most places. So much different from the old Puteh I had before (singing in the background) that is only stabilising now (> 2 years), maybe due to my lack of experience in keeping Putehs. I believe this fella can still improve. But I am going to be more selective now. As I believe a good competition bird needs time to become mature and reliabe. So, tentatively I am looking at a couple years of investment at least :( Now, when will Thor's time be? :D
Note: video taken around 1 am, after I woke up and switch on the light. They must have thought it was morning already :D
After much debate about Oriental White-eye (OWE) and Everett's White-eye EWE), finally I decided to get a pair of OWE. Cannot really say though, but looks like OWE, the owner swears its a OWE and sound like OWE. So, it must be an OWE hahaha!
Unfortunately the male (shown in picture) decided to leave my house today (escaped from a gap in the bathing cage), I am just too tired to trap him back. Already kept all my Putehs, lazy to hang them out again. If I do, I think he will not go too far & comes back. Especially so since there is a female in the house :) Well, I have always been firm about escaped birds. If they want to leave, by all means (especially when they escaped on their own) they can hehehe! Unless they are the type that cannot fend for themselves (baby birds & handicapped birds), I am not too bothered.
Anyway, as a consolation, I just got one OWE that has a thunderous voice. I will call him Thor for the moment. Offered to me out of the blue by a trader. Deal is, I have to give him half of the proceed if I sell the bird. I reminded him that I do not sell birds and it could be a long wait for him hehehe! Will think of something to give him later ;)
I have always regarded this tiny bird as the most demanding bird to keep. Demanding not so much in the sense of special requirements, but due to their traditional cage size, food and water cups which is small. Coupled with their healthy appetite, it is prudent to check daily the food and water level of these birds. What makes it challenging is when I am required to be away from home for a few days. Using tubes of water is a solution, but it makes the cage quite unsightly. Anyway, the issue is there is a very narrow safety margin for errors.
I nearly gave up on these birds, what more with one that only chooses to sing at home but not elsewhere. And finally I have been rewarded with my patience (2 years) and this little fella decides to sing anywhere. Many of my Putehs has been given away over time but somehow, this one stayed with me.
Will try him out in the next Puteh competition and see how he ranks.
Yesterday, a wild Mata Puteh flew into my house (anyway, it is quite a common occurence depending on season). Mistaking it to be an escaped bird, my children got excited and frightened the poor fella which flew right into a rotating ceiling fan. Well, the poor bird met with an untimely death. Appears to be female. After saying a short prayer for her, she ended up in the dustbin.
Took in another Oriental White-eye (Zosterops Everetti) today. Saw a Zosterops Palpebrosa in Kandang bird shop 2 weeks ago which is very tempting. These Palpebrosa appears to be scarce nowadays or maybe I was looking at the wrong places.
The above pic is an old photo of Lucky, my first Oriental White-eye, an Everette.
