Crazy Gouldian

[debbyloo]

I wonder if anyone else has ever experienced this. I have one male gouldian in an indoor flight aviary with other gouldians and assorted finches who is persistenly building a nest on the floor of the aviary in a back corner -- UNDER the newspaper covering the floor! There are plenty of hanging wicker nesting baskets of varying sizes and styles, along with some enclosed nesting boxes located throughout the aviary. Several gouldians are in the process of raising clutches in some of them. But the one unpaired male has persisted for months now in laboriously constructing a nest UNDER a sheet of newspaper in the back corner of the floor of the aviary. At first, when I would clean the cage, and find a pile of flattened nesting material under the newspaper in that spot, I would assume that it had somehow just blown around and accumulated up under there. I tossed it out week after week. Then, one day, I saw that corner of the newspaper tipped up and moving a little bit, and thought perhaps there was a bit of a draft blowing it. I didn't think much about it. When I saw it again another day, I took a closer look, and was amazed to see this male gouldian fly out from under the newspaper. I have spotted him again and again since. He flies down, somehow lifts up the corner of the newspaper, and crawls up under it, carting various nesting materials he has gathered from around the cage, and depositing then in a circular fashion. He shreds tiny slivers from the newspaper elsewhere and adds them to the pile. It grows to about 6 or 8 inches in diameter, and I'm sure has some dimension to it, but the weight of the newspaper on top flattens it out eventually. I have placed a nestbox in the exact spot, hoping to help him out, but he had no interest in it. After several weeks, I removed it, and he is once again back to building his nest up under the newspaper in that back corner. Is that crazy or what? I have to say that there is not a single gouldian hen showing the least interest in his building project!

[lovezebs]

debbyloo

That's just too funny. There is always one in every group , isn't there? He must have heared somewhere, that he needs to think outside the box.... and decided to take it literally.

Offer him a wooden bird box, the kind that you hang outside for wild birds, with the conical roof and the little round hole in the front. My Gouldis have taken a real shine to these things. Maybe he will like that too.

Good luck.

~Elana~

[Toddmin]

I haven't had any of mine do that before, but I like how creative your male Gouldian is! Are you going to let him continue?

[MiaCarter]

Well that's funny, isn't it?!

I have a few perpetual nest builders and they really seem to enjoy it. It gives them something to do, I think, so I support it with plenty of materials.

What a curious spot *under* the newspaper!
I can't say I've ever seen that for nest building.
Though I did have a little green-cheeked conure who would hide under the newspaper. He was painfully shy and would lift up a corner of the paper and hide beneath. Later, once he overcame his shyness, he would hide under there when he was upset (usually after being put in his cage for a time-out after being naughty.) He had a fabric snuggly nest, but he preferred under the newspaper!

So I imagine under the paper feels cozy and secure to them. What's odd is that you'd think they'd feel vulnerable on the floor. But I guess not!

[Toddmin]

At least you wouldn't have to worry about chicks falling out of the nest, should any chicks hatch!

[Sam007]