Birdlet's 13 clutch fledged one week ago. All was initially well with 2 very active chicks. Bird (father) and Birdlet (mom) were both devotedly feeding them at first. Then Bird stopped as he was preoccupied defending his territory. Very distressingly, another male Shama was coming into the heart of the territory and Bird was frantic to eject him. When it finally flew away he was apparently amped up and viscously attacked Birdlet (the mom ) while she was attempting to feed the chicks. Was this re-directed aggression? Or is he now getting older and either mentally or physically unable to tell who she is? Oddly, just days before that he was allowing her to eat at the same time in the kitchen, which he does not do in non-breeding season. This time, instead of deferring to him, she fought back in order to continue to care for her chicks. And then, sadly she disappeared the next day. Being a very devoted mother who was coming into the kitchen 5 times plus per day for mealworms and also finding outside foods, she is presumed dead. She would not have abandoned or ignored the peeping of these chicks. While it could have been a toxin, it is likely she was killed by Bird, her mate.
The future does not look bright for the chicks. Bird is NOT feeding them.
Oddly (to us humans) there now appears to be 5 male Shamas in the lower forest area of our yard who are singing loudly. Are they auditioning for a female or having a vocal debate on who deserves to take over from Bird? Bird came into the kitchen for his meal then flew straight out instead of around his territory. He went up Maunawili Road. Has he been displaced? So troubling.
We have befriended this pair and over 30 chicks over 3 years. The pair came faithfully every day for mealworms. Every day. Often 5 times a day one or the other would be sitting on Don's hand enjoying a rest and a meal. Now there is no Birdlet.
This is so sad and we are in mourning.
Has anyone else observed a male Shama attacking his mate?
Hi, such a change to predictable and enjoyable visits of the shama family. That would make me sad too. We recently moved to a rental and spend time sweeping the driveway and raking the yard. We’ve been fortunate to have a shama visit us. He seems to be quite inquisitive and not afraid. Such a beautiful singer. Makes me smile when he comes by. Hard to tell if it’s the same guy, though pretty sure it is. He hangs out in the plumeria tree.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading your posts and hope to read more in the future. Thank you for taking the time to share. Mahalo!
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DeleteGreat to hear that you have your own Shama! And thanks for posting. Glad to know someone enjoys reading about Shamas and we can both learn from each other as we observe and interact with these wonderful creatures. And I am happy to report that we have Shamas again so I revisited this blog. I just read your post. I'll be looking for future comments from you - is your Shama still hanging around? Aloha, Sue
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