Music in the wee hours of the morning!!!

[cindy]

Originally this started around 6 every morning and we didn't think to much about it except we considered it extra incentive to get out of bed in the morning on time or it was done out of habit on our time schedule. In our owl and gold breast flight we have one little male gold breast that for some reason thinks he is either a rooster or he can not contain himself and is just so joyful he needs to share his song at very odd hours.

The room is dark except for a large night light across the room, his singing used to be at 6 am but the time change did not effect him, he now goes off at 5 or 4:30 am. We can hear him across the house in our bedroom and even through a closed door. It is a very loud, piercing song that only he does. I get up every morning when it wakes me, trudge across the house (not printing what I am grumbling as I do so) to the cage, there he sits tall and proud in the same spot on the same branch, head back, beak to the ceiling belting out his siren of a song.

I turn on that cage light and shoo him up to the higher branches...usually this puts an end to it. Today though he got up into the plants, turned around looked at me and continued.

It is a complete puzzle to us that this tiny bird finds it very important to start the day in the darkness and at that hour with an ear piercing, repetitious song. I am seriously considering a timer for the flight only set for 5 am. I can't turn all the cages on at that hour...everyone will start to sing. The rest of the birds remain quiet until I get up....it is just this one little guy, the prettiest of the gold breasts in the flight! (his looks are saving him!!!)

Has anyone else had this experience....all I know is that for such a tiny bird...he has a big noise!!!!

[L in Ontario]

Some of my Strawberries start singing hours before any lights come on.

I came downstairs at 2am one night getting a drink and I heard him as I came down the stairs. I couldn't believe it! The lights do not come on until close to 5am. There he was singing away. I've heard him 2 or 3 times when I come down in the middle of the night.

I'm glad I can't hear him from my bedroom though.

[Sally]

Isn't it curious, both these species are very closely related--Amandava amandava and Amandava subflava. Many Strawberry owners have commented on their males habit of either singing or more likely emitting piercing calls very early in the morning. Cindy, it sounds like you have a Goldbreast that wants to copy the Strawberries!

[cindy]

Liz and Sally, our home is a Florida style split...our daughter's room and a spare room are on one side, the family room (flight is in there) and kitchen are off of that...then to get to our room on the other side of the house you have to go though the dining roon/ living room...tile and wood floors vaulted ceilings...it is an echo chamber!!! Believe it or not it does not wake my daughter, the cage is up against the common wall of her room and the family room!!!

For as little and high energy that goldbreast are you think he would be tired and sleep through the night!!!

If he wants to be a strawberry....could he do it later in the morning!!!! What is interesting is he is an offspring to my original pair, he grew up here!!

[LordDeathcon]

I find thier songs in the morning a nice way to wake up....I wake up early in the morning anyways so it's nice having a bit of the outdoors inside the home....It's like camping....It's nice to wake up with the sun and the birds chirping:) Even my dog seems to like it

[cindy]

I like their songs at a reasonable hour...if this little guy thinks he is a strawberry....well I usually like my strawberries with my cereal at 6:30!!!!!!!

[dfcauley]

Cindy,

I am going to try to record my birds at 3-4 in the morning and post it here. I have a concert going on in the aviary.
The goldbreast are the WORST because all they do is screech!
But they are not the only ones in my aviary that sing all night long.

[cindy]

Donna...I am happy to hear I am not the only one with loud Goldbreasts!!! During the day their songs are soft but this one gent is so loud...even with a split plan house and closing our door it is not enough to block the sound.

What is it with them, wonder if they do this in the wild!!!....I am ordering a few extra cages and may remove them from the flight and set them up in a 36 high/30 wide/18d flight in a room that the door can be closed off at night!!!! I was thinking of doing a flight for the dining room for them but this little bugger dashed that idea since it is right off our bedroom!

The problem with me getting up to turn only their cage light on (beside dragging myself out of bed) is the bourkes which are tame see me and they get all excited....so they start chirping and flapping about. I ignore them and go back to bed and try to go back to sleep.

[MLaRue]

All I can do is laugh because this is exactly why my husband asked me to get rid of three species... and Goldbreasts were one of them

I slept right thru it but not him

But now the remaining Goldbreast I have are in the bird building... I feel for you Cindy as it drove Neil nuts all thru the night.

[cindy]

Misty, it is just the one...the most handsome one! I am almost an empty nester, the dogs sleep through the night, all the other birds sit tight till morning....this little guy is driving me nuts!!! One morning it was 2:30, then 4 but he is now right around 5am...at first we thought it was the time change but watching him sit in the same spot every moring and signing to his hearts content it is definately adorable but I want to squish him!!!! just kidding!!!!

I am not sure why when I turn the cage light on he stops...I need to find the timers I bought from IKEA and install them, try to get the light on before he starts!!

[MLaRue]

I was afraid the Linnie's were going to drive him crazy with their very unique noise but so far so good.

But I know Neil felt the same way as you do now - he would actually wake me up to go shut up the bird but how do you shut up a bird!

Mine would start at 1 am on - the Cubans started first and then the Goldbreasts and then the Strawberries... so when he found out I was selling the Strawberries he was beyond happy but then I reminded him I still had the Goldbreasts - his happy moment lasted for a split second!

I would turn the light on but that was worse because then ALL the Waxbills would be up! Parrot finches are bad about this too - any beam of light and they are up - trilling and trilling...

[Ursula]

Just curious: Do you have a nightlight on or are they in complete dark when they start singing? If you have a nightlight, maybe it's too bright?

I've heard the same of button quail. That's why they are not recommended for apartments with thin walls because they can start crowing in the middle of the night. Mine do that too only sometimes, but usually I sleep with earplugs anyway because of my husband's snoring, so I am not bothered at all.

[DCbeachboy]

Thanks for sharing this! I'm sure you don't find it particularly amusing at that ungodly hour, but I hope you'll forgive those of us who see a hint of comedy in the situation.

You know, it really does help put things into proper perspective. Here I was 3 months ago after receiving my birds, complaining that the hen was NOISY throughout the day -- so much for the quiet Gouldian hen myth, she didn't get the memo! She's calmed down somewhat since, but is still rather loud. With my desk just feet away from their cage, it took a month or so to adjust -- but now it's all background noise.

I now realize how very lucky I am that my birds remain quietly asleep as long as their cage cover is on. Never a peep from the time they're covered until I remove it the next morning. If either bird began chirping or making noise regularly at 4-5 a.m., I'd be grumpy the rest of the day! I wonder if covering your singer's cage at night would be an option for you? I keep an automatic nightlight in the roof area that comes on whenever the cage light goes off -- and provides just enough light so they aren't in total darkness while covered. Just a thought.

[dfcauley]

All I can do is laugh because this is exactly why my husband asked me to get rid of three species... and Goldbreasts were one of them

I slept right thru it but not him

But now the remaining Goldbreast I have are in the bird building... I feel for you Cindy as it drove Neil nuts all thru the night.

Yes... you can laugh and I think you put those goldbreast off on me.

[annague]

Have you tried a spray bottle? Would it help if you squirted him with water?