Home from the bird fair! (much pics to share!)

[Domenic]

I just got home from the bird fair with my new MALE owl! Yes I am lucky enough to know what he is because two seconds after putting him in his cage, lo and behold I hear the first owl song I have ever heard. He will not stop singing now, but it is music to my ears to know that he is actually a he.


Anyway, back to the bird fair. The overall fair was not impressive. I could not even find any finch nests or nesting material. However, Paradise Earth, also birdproduct.com, was there and WOW. The were the main attraction. Their selection was incredible, and there were many birds I have never even heard of. I was so elated to see some of these birds in person, some of them just blew me away. I also got to see the Purple Grenadiers in real life for the first time, and they are even more beautiful in person, albeit a little plucked. I hope you enjoy the pics, I certainly enjoyed seeing all these different birds.


































All in all, many of his birds were in perfect condition, but there were a few less than satisfactory (very overgrown beaks, plucked, corkscrew nails, poor feather quality, fluffed). Of the 100's of birds he had, I'd say most were in great condition. His owls were probably in the best shape, along with some of the other common finches. Gouldians were the worst. The violet turacos were amazing to see also.

I spoke to the wife again and she told me that most of the birds were bred by her and her husband in their outdoor aviaries in Arizona. She said the rarer species like the turacos were not their own though, and that they get them from quarantine facilities, but they do try to breed as many as they can.

[L in Ontario]

Congratulations on your new MALE Owl finch!! There sure were a lot of varieties of birds there. The Tanagers look amazing too.

[GOULDYGIRL]

Congrat's on your male owl Dominic!! What are those birds that are black with the bright red chests?? I like Never saw them before.

Great pics, thanks for sharing!

Renee

[Domenic]

Those are Western Bluebills. Very pretty, very similar to JohnBoy's crimson seedcrackers. $450 a pair. You can click on any of the pics to zoom in a little and see the birds better.

[dfcauley]

Thanks for sharing! What a variety! I am curious about the birds fourth from the bottom. I saw a pair of those one time at a mart. I think they are fairly rare. Also the ones right above them with the bright blue...wow... do you know what they are?

[Sally]

Donna, I think the ones in the fourth picture are the Grey-headed Olivebacks, pictured above alongside the Cuban Melodious. And I think the blue ones are the Blue-faced Dacnis. Wow, those and the Blue-headed Tanagers are just eye-popping!!

Domenic, thank you so much for such a complete report on the bird mart, and this vendor in particular. It is so helpful to see these displays. Those people certainly have a larger variety than I have ever seen--quite impressive. I really like those Montane White-eyes.

[annague]

Okay -- I LOVE those dacnis! I bit pricey but SOOOOO beautiful. I guess they are like a tanager or something...

How different are tanagers than finches? Can you keep them together?

Does anyone know?

Cool!! Thanks for sharing, Domenic!

[lovemyfinch]

Wow What an amazing variety.

On a side note, if anyone is wondering what I would like for Christmas, I'll take a pair of those Blue Necked TAnagers in a heartbeat.....stunning

[Domenic]

It's funny, all of you react the same way I did. We get so excited over new species!!

A lot are asking what certain types of birds are. I should have pointed this out earlier, each picture is taken with the label on the cage so you can see the price and name of the bird, just click on the picture to blow it up so you can read the labels better. I did this on purpose because there is no way I would have remembered all of those species.

Donna - The blues are black faced dacnis. My sister was amazed by them so she's the reason we have the close up pic. I remember your original post about the grey headed olive backs. That's when I originally fell in love with them. I was so excited to see them in person. The markings on their heads make them look like little ninjas. GHOB are second on my list of favorite species, right next to grenadiers. If I remember correctly they were going for $500 a pair when you saw them. The price has dropped significantly to $250. Seems this species is becoming more available. I hope it become more common, it is a very beautiful bird.

Sally - you're welcome! I always love when people post pics of bird marts here on the forum, so I thought it would be nice to contribute too. I love the montane white eyes too. Have you ever seen these in person? They are about the size of a gouldian. In pictures you would assume they were bigger. They are also pretty cheap at $100 each. They reminded me of Cindy's Pekin robins. You can't see them very well but they also had yellow white eyes which I thought were just as beautiful. If you look at the picture they are right next to St. Helena's, so you can get an idea of how tiny they really are.

Anna - I used to think tanagers were much larger than finches, but now after seeing them in person that is definitely not the case. They are very small (all different sizes though) but some of the biggest were only slightly larger than canaries. I don't know their temperaments, and everything I've read says to keep them separate except in large aviaries. You'll have to read up on it, but judging by their size it is definitely not impossible.

I notice a lot of you like the tanagers. If only you could see them in person. Their colors are neon and sort of glow. It's very different from finch colors, but hard to explain.

[Domenic]

I forgot to post the pic of the paradise tanagers! These were my favorite of the tanagers, and they are right next to parrot finches so you guys can see how big they really are.

[Queen_Bee]

Oh my goodness - I wouldnt' know where to start. What an amazing collection of birds... tanagers now on the wish list!!!

[CandoAviary]

Looks like you had great fun and congrats on your lovely owl
Love all the pictures too. Thanks.

[sierranomad]

Oh man!!! The Blue Necked Tanagers, Dacnis and Paradise Tanagers!!! Oh man!!

When I see things as beautiful as those birds (whether it's a mountain scene, forest, flowers or whatever) I get frustrated that I'm not more eloquent. It seems only the best poets could properly express the effect that seeing beauty like that has on your soul.

The Bird Mart you were at put the one I was at to shame. Doubt I'll ever own birds like those ($600 a pair!!) but I can enjoy them vicariously at Marts or images Thanks for the pics. Next Mart I'm at I'll take pictures.

[monotwine]

Domenic you saved the best for last WOW I am over-awed by pretty blue birds.

Your new owl is beautiful ahem Handsome. May he be the one to breed you many young still.
(so that next time you can buy a pair of grenadiers... )

[Sally]

Sally - you're welcome! I always love when people post pics of bird marts here on the forum, so I thought it would be nice to contribute too. I love the montane white eyes too. Have you ever seen these in person? They are about the size of a gouldian. In pictures you would assume they were bigger. They are also pretty cheap at $100 each. They reminded me of Cindy's Pekin robins. You can't see them very well but they also had yellow white eyes which I thought were just as beautiful. If you look at the picture they are right next to St. Helena's, so you can get an idea of how tiny they really are.

That vendor did an excellent job with his signs, ID'ing the birds and giving a price. And thank you again for all those photos, felt like I was at the mart myself! I have seen Montane White Eyes in person--Chase Austin in Houston has actually gotten them to breed for him. He showed a pair of them at the Ft. Worth Bird Club show, and they placed 6th on Top Ten bench, I think it was. If and when I decide to get into softbills, I think the Montane White Eyes would be the first ones to get. Of course, if I ever win the lottery, those Paradise Tanagers would be right up at the top!