These guys aren't "tame" they're wild birds, but they've decided that we're a part of their wilderness and useful for some things. They communicate with us, and we with them to some degree.
This all grew out of DJ deciding to make friends with a shama, and getting to know demure little "Birdlet" early in 2019, back when Bird hated him and gave the monster razz to him. Over the course of four fledgings in 2019, the eepies, peepies, cheepies, and chickies the relationships changed somewhat, and that change seems to be ongoing. We had no idea that making friends with one shama would lead to such a bunch of stories, with various of these avian yard-dinosaurs deciding to co-inhabit our indoor space as well as convincing us to do various things outdoors.
I have been looking after a wild Shama in Llama Valley since it was born three months ago. On the day it fledged a Myna tried to kill it. I intervened and it has been thriving since. It's parents have disappeared. I am very interested in feeding. The chick (female) comes each morning to our door for a feeding. I give it three or four live crickets and the same number of meal worms. My concern is, whether the bird is becoming dependent on my feeding? Sometimes we travel and there is no one to feed her. I see her foraging during the day. Yesterday she took on a 3" centipede without any problem. Can I continue to feed her the amounts described without causing dependency
ReplyDeleteYes, birds can become dependent on feeding. Then again, they can also die from having too few calories to sustain them, so it's a balance. That chick might well have died without the supplement to its diet - nature is very strict about energy flows and carrying capacity. So it's true that the bird may well be alive due to your supplement of its diet, and that it might not survive without it. As it becomes a more effective hunter, its ability to forage for itself will improve, perhaps meaning that it will usurp the food of a bird you don't know, and that bird could die instead. Human intervention is a two-edged knife; energy flow affects not just survival but behavior. The degree to which you feed a wild bird will determine the dependency level. It might die, or another bird might, with a hiatus in your feeding. Then again, without your feeding the bird might not now exist at all. This is true at whatever level one is feeding, but obviously becomes more likely the more one is feeding each day. By the same token, feeding encourages parent shamas to have more chicks and fledge them and chase them away more quickly, which leads to high chick mortality. Songbirds like a shama don't have much in the way of reserves. So make feeding decisions accordingly.
DeleteUnknown, this is Sue. First, mahalo for being such a good caregiver to your Shama chick. I'll add a bit more to what was written above in response to your question. You brought up that you travel and are concerned that the bird may be too dependent on you. Shama chicks are usually forced out of their birth territory by the parents when the parents have other chicks ready to hatch. If your home is a part of their territory then the chick will leave at some point and it may not be an issue by the time that you travel. However you wrote that the parents have disappeared. Territories are usually around 0.9 hectares (Conant) and remain constant (based on our observations but few scientist have done multiple year studies) for the life of the breeding pair. It is likely that your area is still theirs but you just don't see them. However, if you are certain that they have moved, it is likely that your home area is now her permanent territory if no one is around to force her out. In that case she would be staying. When you have a trip planned you should either find someone to feed her while you are gone or you should start cutting back on what you are directly feeding her so she gets used to receiving less and less from you. At the same time it would be a good idea to start a compost pile, vermicompost (worm bin) and other feeding stations that would attract and breed bugs so she has additional food while you are gone. Let us know what worked out. By the way, what area do you live in? I have not heard of “Llama Valley”. I look forward to reading more about your Shamas.
ReplyDelete