Thursday, December 25, 2008

Shama Tai Mong

Tai Mong refers to juvenile birds. Could be Shamas, Magies or even bulbuls. There has been many opinions given as to which stage of Shamas (age) makes a better songbird. Wild adults are said to posess their wild naturally learned repertoire of songs whereas baby birds would lack the capacity to do so as they have been removed from their wild environment. To compensate them from such disadvantage, often, a tutor bird is highly recommended.

For me, my preference often are skewed towards young juveniles for the mere fact that they tame down much easier than the adult birds. And often start singing after their first molt to adult plumage. Young juveniles, or often I prefer to call them the "flying babies" (vs those that still require hand feeding), have acquired their own style of songs.

This year, I kept two of such babies - one from Rompin which I kept for a friend and another from Grik which a friend decided to give up on. Both have developed nicely enough and started singing well before the adult plumage has fully grown. However I should be keeping them away from stressful competitive environment until after their second molt for best effect.

Rompin Tai Mong:


Grik Tai Mong:

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