That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

In their natural habitats, canaries and other birds learn their species’ songs by listening to the singing of their parents and neighboring birds.  The process starts when they are still in the nest, and, with most birds, ends once the adult song is mastered.

Learning From Other Species

Canaries, mockingbirds, starlings and some others are particularly gifted mimics, and may modify their species-specific song with tunes “borrowed” from other birds.  Some canary breeders house their young birds in locations where they will be sure to hear the melodies of linnets, robins, warblers and other noted songsters.  Canaries raised in this manner often produce very beautiful and unique songs as they mature.

Educating Your Canary

If your busy schedule does not allow you the luxury of taking your canary out for “music education” strolls in the forest, you might find the Feathered Phonics Teach Your Canary to Sing Bird CD helpful.  Your canary might adopt an entire track as his own, or “pick and choose” bits and pieces of the varied selections to add to his repertoire.

Recent Research Into Song Acquisition

Researchers at MIT have recently gained important insights into the methods by which young birds acquire the adult song.  Much like human infants, fledgling birds babble incessantly, all the while practicing and fine-tuning until eventually the song comes together.  It was discovered that birds have two separate song-related brain pathways – one for the immature (“babbling”) song and one for the adult song.  Previously, it as thought that there was only one pathway, which matured over time.

This finding may be of use in understanding how people acquire speech and knowledge.  In birds, the “immature” pathway largely ceases to function once the adult song is learned…in most species the song’s makeup remains unchanged thereafter.  Humans, however, continue to refine, discard and add to just about every facet of what we learn over time.  It is hoped that further studies of avian brain pathways may lead to insights into our own.

Further Reading…Canary Intrigue

You may be surprised to learn about the quite dramatic story behind the canary’s entry into the pet trade.  Please check out my article Shipwrecks, Vicious Dogs and Escaped Birds….the Odd History of the Canary (Serinus canaria).

Today I’ll depart for a moment from pet birds to highlight a surprising conservation concern that recently came to my attention.

It’s easy to become complacent about California condor conservation – after all, the story of its near-extinction (only 22 survived by 1982, all in captivity) and subsequent recovery stands as one of the best-known conservation success stories.  Today, approximately 150 condors are established in the wild, and I had assumed their survival to be, if not guaranteed, at least secure.  Surprisingly, however, there are still gaps in the protection granted the condor under the Endangered Species Act.

It seems that cattle have unrestricted grazing rights in California’s Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, an area that figures prominently in condor re-introduction efforts.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed limitations upon grazing, in order to improve the habitat for condors and San Joaquin kit foxes, leopard lizards and other resident endangered species.  This move is strongly contested by ranchers and many local officials, and the proposal has yet to be implemented.

I’ve worked with Andean and California condors in captivity, and have a soft spot for them.  Please check the following site to learn more about specific action needed to support the preservation of their habitat: (http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/).

Image referenced from Wikipedia and originally posted by Chuck Szmurlo

It appears that one of the world’s strangest and most endangered birds is benefiting by an equally unusual rescue plan.  New Zealand’s kakapo breaks all sorts of “parrot rules”…it is nocturnal, flightless, utilizes a lek mating system (many males display before females in one location), eats leaves and grass and feeds fruit to its young.  It is also the world’s heaviest parrot, and, with a population of only 90 individuals (up from 51 in 1995), the rarest.  With a mean age of 90 years, it is among the longest-lived of all birds.

Kakapo reproduction is tied closely with the flowering of the rimu tree, the fruit of which forms the basis of the chick’s diet.  The tree blooms only every 3^rd year or so, and the kakapos do likewise.  Already decimated by introduced stoats (weasel relatives), rats and habitat loss, the kakapo population cannot rebound under this breeding strategy.

Scientists at Glasgow University have devised a food supplement that increases female egg production in non-fruiting years.  This formula is now fed to wild kakapos and has yielded promising results.  Amazingly, the dedicated researchers working with this bird know every individual (by name!).  They carry supplemented food to scores of feeding stations, and make certain that each bird consumes its share…surely one of the most intense conservation initiatives anywhere!

 You can read more about the remarkable Kakapo Recovery Plan at:

http://www.kakaporecovery.org.nz/

Image referenced from Wikipedia Commons

Crimson rosellas, colorful parrots much favored as pets, follow a unique strategy when rearing their young.

The Typical Scenario

Rosella eggs, like those of all parrots, hatch in the order they were laid, so that the first chick to emerge has a few days head-start on the last.  In most bird species where this occurs, the first chick out of the egg out-competes the others, as parents tend to feed the largest, noisiest mouth that confronts them.  This assures that, in times of food scarcity, at least one chick may survive, albeit at the expense of the others.

A Twist – Choosing Which Chick Will be Fed

I recently watched some footage that indicated that adult crimson rosellas apportion food given to chicks equally, so that all survive and fledge at about the same size.  Upon considering this, I found it odd, as rosellas inhabit a harsh environment, where food shortages are likely, and so “should”, I reasoned, put the most resources into the largest chick.

Further research revealed that the complete story is even more surprising.  Male and female rosella parents specifically identify individual chicks and selectively choose which to feed, based on varying criteria.

Males respond to the chick that seems hungriest at the time, as indicated by the volume of its call.  Thus, males tend to distribute food equally among the brood…a sated chick becomes quiet, and another is fed.  Females preferentially feed the last-hatched (smallest) chick…unless all are crying out for food, in which case they feed the oldest (largest) chick first.

Outcome in Good and Bad Times

In good times, this strategy assures that the youngest chick is well fed, and that all receive enough food.  When food is scarce, however, and all chicks are hungry, the oldest will be fed more often by both the male (this chick will attract the male by its ability to beg more vigorously) and female.  The elder chick is, therefore, only granted a survival advantage during lean years…when food is plentiful, all chicks are assured a good diet and an equal chance at fledging.

Rosella chicks have also been observed sharing food among themselves… more on that in the future.  

A report concerning the Australia National University study that documented this behavior is posted at:

http://www.anu.edu.au/BoZo/magrath/pdfs/paper4.pdf

Image referenced from Wikipedia, and originally posted by Percita Dittmar

The chipper little zebra finch, ever popular in the lab and home, has once again shed some light on topics important to those who study both birds and people.

Hearing and Correcting the Song

Researchers at Switzerland’s Zurich University have shown that certain cells in zebra finch brains become active when the bird makes a mistake in its song, or when a disruption is introduced into a recording of another’s song.  This offers the first proof that birds listen to their own songs, and compare what they hear to an “ideal” song that is stored somewhere in the brain.

Implications for People

Human language skills are thought to develop in a similar manner, but the functioning of the neurons involved is largely unknown.  The recent discoveries concerning finches may point the way towards a better understanding of speech development in people.

Song and Speech Timing

In related experiments, it was discovered that a specific area of the brain, the High Vocal Center, controls the timing of zebra finch singing.  Cooling this area of the brain slowed the song’s tempo, but did not affect the sequence of the notes (one is tempted to wonder why the birds kept singing while their brains were being chilled!).

Birdsong and human speech both require a complex series of timing adjustments if they are to be understood by others of their species.  The Zurich researchers are hopeful that their work will have implications for those studying human speech impediments.

The zebra finch is one of the world’s most important laboratory animals, and studies of it have led to a staggering array of important discoveries.  An interesting summary of its many contributions is posted at:

http://genome.wustl.edu/genome.cgi?GENOME=Taeniopygia%20guttata