That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

See Part 1 of this article: Taming and Training Canaries and Other Finches, Part I

Last time we discussed some finch training basics…getting your pet to calm down when near people and out of its cage. Please see Part I of this article for further details.

Returning to the Cage

As mentioned in Part I of this article, canaries and other finches are much easier to train when outside their cages. If your bird is to become truly tame, it is essential that it return to the cage on its own, and not be chased there. This may take a great deal of time, and will require you to be very patient.

Use treats to lure the bird inside. Canaries and finches often relish egg food, and may respond quickly when it is offered. Many finches cannot resist small insects. A convenient way to keep these handy is to utilize canned insects most silkworms are nearly always a big hit.

Your pet may also respond to fruit treats – freeze dried mango, coconut, papaya, blueberries and others work well for many species.

If you must net the bird, darken the room and try to be as quick and careful as possible.

Calling your Bird to Hand

The treats mentioned above may also be used to induce your pet to fly to your hand. If you call the bird each time food is presented, it may eventually fly to you when called, even if it does not see food in your hand. Continue to provide a treat each time it responds, but, as time goes on, hide the treat until your pet actually alights upon your hand (or head, as the case may be!).

Again, canaries are most apt to respond to this type of training, but I have also run across surprisingly responsive spice finches, Java rice birds, zebra finches, fire finches and others.

Further Reading

Although canaries are perceived to be natural songsters, a good deal of learning is involved…and you can help (no, you needn’t be a good whistler!). Learn more about improving your canary’s singing abilities in my article Teaching Your Canary to Sing.

When we think of tame birds, it is most often the parrots and mynas that come to mind. Canaries and other finches, on the other hand, are largely thought of as pets to enjoy for their bright colors, active ways and cheerful songs. To a great extent, these perceptions hold true…but not entirely. Just as there are parrots that would frustrate the patience of famed animal trainer Gunther-Gable Williams himself, there are finches that become wonderfully tame and trusting.

Good Candidates

Most who have tried to tame finches agree that canaries and the closely-related green singing finches make the best candidates. Their calm demeanors, modified by thousands of generations in captivity, are a great asset to the first time bird-trainer.

A friend once showed me a number of photos of 2 incredibly tame zebra finches owned by her father in Taiwan. The birds slept in his pocket, responded to several commands, and seemed to solicit petting and other attention. She assured me that trained finches were quite common in her father’s community, and in other places on the island as well. In any event, zebra finches have long captive histories, and some individuals seem unusually calm even without much close contact.

How Nature Affects Training

When attempting to tame your pet finch, it is important to keep its nature and natural history in mind. Finches are smaller than the majority of the predators in their habitats….even spiders and frogs make meals of them on occasion. Most are, consequently, alert, high-strung and quick to take flight.

It is important to avoid sudden movements and noises around your finches …move slowly and speak in low tones. Keeping your birds at eye level is a good idea, as most become stressed by movements above their heads. In the beginning, avoid direct eye contact, which birds may associate with danger. I first read of this tip in the wonderful book Hand Taming Wild Birds at the Feeder (Martin, 1963)…the advice was later echoed by experienced co-workers at import facilities and the Bronx Zoo, and has proven very useful to me.

Make the same low sound or whistle each time you enter the room, and spend as much time as possible in the area…sitting quietly, in the main, for the first few days. Watch your birds for clues as to when it is time to move on with the process. Once they stop flitting about and begin feeding, bathing and preening in your presence, you can begin to try some closer contact.

Moving to Free Flight Training

It is nearly impossible to tame finches in their cage…your hand within their territory will be too threatening. The best technique is to allow them liberty in a bird-safe (cover windows, mirrors, etc.) room. Do this only after your pets have accepted their cage as a safe haven and regard it as their territory. The time period involved will vary, but 4-6 weeks is a good starting point.

When first releasing your finches, slowly insert an 18 inch perch through the bars near the cage door, and then open the door. This will allow the birds to exit slowly…many birds (and most animals for that matter), are reluctant to just burst into unfamiliar territory. Finches will prefer to hop out onto the perch for a look around, and may take a surprisingly long time to leave their cage completely.

Never attempt to chase your bird from its cage, as even one bad experience, especially with species other than canaries, can easily ruin your chances of gaining your pet’s trust.

Be sure to have a comfortable perch (i.e. another cage top, potted tree or well-secured natural branch) set up some distance from the cage as well, so that the finch will have somewhere to alight.

Returning to the Cage

Now that the finch is flitting about the room, how does one get it to go back home? Please check Part II of this article next week for tips on hand-taming and returning your bird to its cage.

For a different perspective on bird training, please see my article, Hand Taming Wild Birds.

Check out Part II of this article for additional information.

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).

Now that bird-feeding season is upon us, I’d like to pass along some thoughts on one of the most pleasurable aspects of this hobby, the hand-feeding of wild birds.  Strange as this may sound, it is actually quite simple to train a number of species to feed from the hand – assuming, that is, that you have patience and the ability to remain still in cold weather!

I was first made aware of the prospect of hand-feeding by a wonderful little book given me by my grandfather, who was always looking for new ways to see animals up close: Hand Taming Wild Birds at the Feeder (Martin, A.G., 1963; Bond Wheelwright Co.: Freeport).  Over the years, I have found that chickadees, juncos and cardinals to be by far the boldest of the typical “backyard birds”.  However the occasional hairy woodpecker, nuthatch or catbird may surprise you with a visit, and the aforementioned book’s author has had success with an incredible range of species.

Keeping your Guests Calm

An important point raised by the author is that you not stare directly at a bird which alights on your hand.  This is good advice, and was borne out in my later experiences working with birds in zoos.  If you want birds to stay close so that you can observe them, don’t stare…they will allow a much closer approach if you use sidewise glances, at least at first.  Birds recognize eyes, and associate a stare with danger, it seems.

An Interesting Twist – an Owl that Fed People

I found it interesting that birds also seem to “know” what a mouth is.  The author makes the point that one ought not “swallow” when a bird is on the hand, lest it fly off.  A screech owl that I  once helped to raise definitely confirmed this.  He was imprinted on people and when ready to breed attempted to offer mice (a traditional owl nuptial gift) to his human friends.  Alighting on a shoulder, he would invariably attempt to jam the mouse in one’s mouth – never in an ear!

The Best Foods to Use

When feeding wild birds, choose a seed mix that contains a wide variety of ingredients (i.e. Scott’s Multi-Bird Blend), so as to attract many species.  A good hand-feeding technique is to offer pieces of suet.  Although often thought of as being specifically for woodpeckers, birds of all kinds crave this high-energy food in winter…its presence in your hand will help to overcome their initial shyness.

The accompanying photo shows yours truly with a friendly black-capped chickadee in hand.

Please see my article Introducing the Turacos (Family Musophagidae), With Notes on an Unusual Individual for a story about a bird that was a bit too habituated to human company.

We’ve all handled our share of troublesome parrots, but 2 incidents that caught my attention recently seemed worthy of passing along…enjoy.

A bad Actor…or a Brilliant Prankster?
An Amazon parrot set to debut in a Christmas play for a professional theatre company in Dorset, England was summarily dismissed for replacing his painstakingly-learned lines with curses. Despite reciting his lines perfectly during rehearsal, the bird unfailingly broke into a stream of obscenities each time he was called upon to speak on stage. The bird’s owner expressed “shock” and claimed to be “at a loss” when asked to explain his pet’s behavior. As might be expected, a stand-in for the mischievous fellow is proving difficult to locate.

An Avian Barfly
On a more serious note, in terms of proper pet-keeping, a parrot of unidentified species was banned from a pub in South Wales, where he had been a beloved mascot. According to the pub’s manager, the bird had become “too fond” of beer, to the point of stealing sips from patron’s mugs at every opportunity, and rarely rose “before noon”. The errant bird also cursed “continually” (wonder where he picked that up!), “heckled the pool players” and produced a loud “wolf whistle” each time a woman entered the pub. This last transgression proved to be the last straw, as some women blamed other pub patrons for the whistles, and fights broke out as a result.

Happily, the bird was adopted by a concerned neighbor and is now living in much more appropriate surroundings. It seems the bird’s “peers” were a bad influence – he is now happily guzzling water instead of beer, and is up with the sunrise!

An Indian Hill Myna’s vocal talents once landed me in a bit of hot water with a zoo director…please see my article The Natural History and Captive Care of the Hill Myna (Myna Bird, Indian Hill Myna), Gracula religiosa.