Gouldian baby from Zebra nest - so interesting!
Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 8:00 pm
Somehow a little Gouldian egg hatched in a Zebra nest. The baby managed to get himself fed, and eventually fledged...
After fledging he begged to every passing Zebra. I don't know who his foster parents were, because he begged to all of them, and not one would feed him. It was strange, because his beg was silent. I presumed he would die...
A few days later he was still there, yet still for as long as I watched not a single bird fed him. He was begging like crazy, though making barely a sound, all day long.
After a week or so I saw the tip of his beak was blunt and worn short. I presume that fledgling beaks are soft(??) and he must have been pecking at seed to try to feed himself, seeing as no-one else was going to.
Today is about 18 days and I was up by the aviary, wondering what the strange sound was. It was sort of baby Zebra-ish, but weird. Plus I don't have any Zebs of the right age. It was little Mr Foster Gouldian. He is still trying to get Zebra adults to feed him, and his call is now 70% a Zebra sound!! He has some Gouldian rhythm, but the sound he makes is closer to a Zebra buzz-squawk than a Gouldian cheep. How about that?!!
I'm also amazed at a Gouldian being this resilient. Maybe those Zebs taught him more than just their calls!
If 'he' is in fact male, I wonder what his song will be, and whether he will show interest in Gouldian mates.
(If I've a chance to record it I will, but tricky.)
After fledging he begged to every passing Zebra. I don't know who his foster parents were, because he begged to all of them, and not one would feed him. It was strange, because his beg was silent. I presumed he would die...
A few days later he was still there, yet still for as long as I watched not a single bird fed him. He was begging like crazy, though making barely a sound, all day long.
After a week or so I saw the tip of his beak was blunt and worn short. I presume that fledgling beaks are soft(??) and he must have been pecking at seed to try to feed himself, seeing as no-one else was going to.
Today is about 18 days and I was up by the aviary, wondering what the strange sound was. It was sort of baby Zebra-ish, but weird. Plus I don't have any Zebs of the right age. It was little Mr Foster Gouldian. He is still trying to get Zebra adults to feed him, and his call is now 70% a Zebra sound!! He has some Gouldian rhythm, but the sound he makes is closer to a Zebra buzz-squawk than a Gouldian cheep. How about that?!!
I'm also amazed at a Gouldian being this resilient. Maybe those Zebs taught him more than just their calls!
If 'he' is in fact male, I wonder what his song will be, and whether he will show interest in Gouldian mates.
(If I've a chance to record it I will, but tricky.)