Spunky and A Curious. Bulbul

 

Bowing Down Before the Princess .. odd Shama interaction with a Bulbul

 Little Brandein is a bit of a "Waianae Tita" or better yet a priveleged, spoiled, Maunawili Shama Princess. Yesterday on the balcony she was so peeved that Scruffy, the Red-Vented Bulbul dared to land on the balcony to share in the repast. Previously the Bulbuls would harass the chicks and often chase them away if we were not there to intervene. Yesterday, Brandein was not about to put up with a twice-her size ruffian looking  bird and took him on! She went at him. Don will hopefully describe this in detail as I was not there so this is just a brief description.

Brandein charged Scruffy, mouth open and threatening him. Instead of fighting back he did what can only be interpreted as submissive behavior! He put his head down, wiggled his wings, and waggled his tongue.  Dogs do submissive cues to convey to another dog that they are not a threat so let's get along. Humans too. It is not surprising, really, that birds too have intraspecies communication to de escalate fights. Nevertheless it did surprise us and is fascinating. We humans are very limited in our understanding that other forms of animals are not, in many ways, very different from us.  Yes, birds have traits that differ from mammals and, as tiny dinosaurs, see the world differently  and yet.. and yet.. 

So by capitulating to her,  he won her over and she backed off and both got to have a snack. 

If she is good at threats and recognizing cues and what they mean, Brandein may actually make it into adulthood with her own territory. On the other hand if all she got out of this is that she can threaten and win, we hope she waits until she is much older than Hawkie was when she fought for dominance out in the world after she left our territory.  She came back to us looking very beat up and may not have survived her warrior lust. Maunawili is saturated with Shamas so the kids have a hard time trying to usurp the established pairs. 

In Memoriam to Little Billy

 

Sadly, Billy did not make it overnight. He had what appeared to be "Avian Pox", which is transmitted by mosquitoes and is highly contagious. We consulted with bird rehabbers  (thanks so much Dixon, Terrie, Katie, and others) and gleaned knowledge from the Internet. Because it was around his eyes as well as his beak, and he was so little, we gave him oral antibiotics  and hoped that his immune system could overcome it. AP, itself, is a virus and not curable. However secondary infections usually set in and that is what can finish off these little guys. Billy seemed to be relatively  perky at 7PM, moving around and eating and drinking  so we were surprised and sad to see his still little body in his cage this AM. He had been isolated from the other chicks for several days as it is so contagious and we had to weigh his happiness as a wild bird against the survival odds of his siblings if he continued to eat the same food sources and  co-exist around them.  Interestingly he seemed to take comfort when we would talk to him and that would trigger him eating his meals.  His cage had towels covering the sides facing the jungle so he didn't struggle against the cage to get out. Also very useful to  trigger his eating instincts were for Don to have his siblings land on Don's hand for their snacks and then he would turn and walk up to Billy's cage so he could see his siblings chowing down. Whether the motive was companionship or more likely competition, Billy would start eating too. So we had our fantasies of Billy overcoming the virus (which can take months) and being our friend for the rest of his life. But not to be. 

Billy was a very personable Shama chick in that special way that Shamas have. We miss him! 

While we mourn Billy's passing, his biological parents were already completely indifferent to their bird child and his plight. They would come up to the balcony for their snacks and even though he was peeping at them they gave him nary a glance.  They had already quit feeding him before he was caged and now he  no longer was their concern. Birdlet is already focused on her next clutch to be and Bird is .. over being "The Best Bird Dad Ever," which he really was for awhile. He was so industrious. Now apparently saving up his energy and emotional investment for the next clutch. And Billy's siblings, Bob, Brandein and Bernadette are "so last week" for our beautiful, uncaring patriarch. He is now in his "Bobby Axelrod" phase of self- absorption. 

RIP, Billy

 READ THE NOV 7 2020 blog post

first!  

 

 

2021 :  JUNE 9  -  SURPRISE !!!!!  🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

 2021 had been a bit traumatic for us all. Between a kitty that was snatching up the chicks and attacks on the little ones by big Bulbuls we despaired that any chicks would make it this summer. One, Spunky, a favorite of ours, flew to Don's hand and fell asleep. Too injured to survive. We worried that there might be an avian disease as well  as the chicks this summer just did not seem very strong. 

So we worried  about the latest clutch ... 😟

Until Today !!!  😁

Just yesterday we thought that at most there were 2 survivors of this most recent clutch of 3 chicks and very possibly only 1 (until we saw Birdlet go across the street so maybe one was alive over there?)   Nicknamed Billy, Bob and Brandine these triplets were being raised separately by the parents. Two with Bird, one with Birdlet. As far as we could tell. 

Bird brought two boys to the balcony a few days ago. Yay! Then, sadly, yesterday, we were pretty sure that either Billy or Bob had perished as only one could be seen. So his name became BillyBob. So sad. Then Birdlet resumed flying across the street with her worms so hopefully that meant Brandine was still alive. Yay!  Sue traipsed across the street, called to  Birdlet who appeared and  sat on the street sign. She then came down to the proffered cup of worms, grabbed a few and disappeared into deep brush. Whew ! Sounds of a chick. What a relief. So back to thinking two had survived.  

Then this afternoon both parents seemed to just be hanging around here and  Don saw two chicks. Did that mean that Birdlet had brought over Brandine and had reunited the family?  But an hour later  she flew across the street again. Huh?  Had Birdlet  led Brandeine back across the street?  Hmmm..  😕

AND THEN .. THE REST OF THE STORY (as Paul Harvey would say) 

Don came to me at 5PM while I was out watering and told me to come sit on the lanai while he updated me with the latest "Wildlife Report". On no! I was sure he was going to tell me that only 1 of the boys was still alive.

But no!   He informed me that a few minutes before he had gone down the hill to sit and observe to see if he could find out how many chicks were there. Were Billy  AND Bob still alive?  Probably not but hopeful.

Wait ! How many chicks were leaping about in the tree?  He was thrilled and startled to spy several chicks more or less lined up on the fence and tree limb. 

Who were they you ask?  

He saw Billy AND Bob AND Brandine AND Bernadette!    Yep! A 4th chick !!!  🙌🙌

So now the  family is the 6 B's!  Bird, Birdlet, Billy, Bob, Brandine and Bernadette! 

Say those as fast as you can! 

Below is the angelic looking kitten that ate the prior clutch of chicks. He was finally trapped. He was not happy and we were not sure if he would be adoptable. He was clearly not someone's pet and made it clear he had no intention of becoming one.  Sue spent days trying to find him found him a foster/ adoptive pet parent  who did not live in our area so if he did escape he would not be able to come back here and dispatch more chicks. She sat beside his cage and read him "Becoming" by Michelle Obama while dropping treats into his crate. Finally he stopped trying to scratch her. And a foster/ adoptive mom was found. Yay! Foster mom took him to PetVet for his checkup before she was to take him to her cat sanctuary. And guess what happened! One of the vets fell in love with him and adopted him. What a lucky cat!  Credit goes to the life lessons imparted by Michelle as otherwise there is no explanation as to why this feline actually behaved himself at the vets. Seriously!  From feral bird killer to cushy pet !