Albino Oriental Magpie Robin

Commonly known as "Or Pek" (Black and White), the Oriental Magpie Robin below cannot qualify for the name. The black markings are non existent. First time I see a white magpie. Now waiting for a chance to see an albino White-rumped Shama. I am sure there is one out there ;)

First molt to adult feathers:



Anyone interested to buy an Albino Magpie can contact the following email cstan005@yahoo.com

Anak Tunggal

There is this thing about "anak tunggal" (single offspring). Quite a lot of my Malay friends believe that the anak tunggal will turn out very good. I didn't have much of a chance to observe this phenomena objectively. This month, 2 potentials will enable me to observe this thing more closely. 1 is a Tekukur that was bred by a friend from a female I bought not too long ago thinking that its a male. Its her first brood and there is only 1 chick. Should be interesting.

Another is a Shama chick. This is the first time such occurence was noticed by my friend. He says, he has never come across a single chick before. 3 chicks very common, 2 chicks fairly common. Lets put to test this "anak tunggal" theory ;)

A picture of the Shama tunggal:


Will post picture of the Spotted Dove's tunggal when I get it ;)

Chase for the perfect food?

OK, I got tired of making my own bird food, getting tired of adding extra oomph to existing bird food available in the market. So, I jumped at the chance to acquire a good brand of bird food for insectivore birds that is available in Singapore. Wow! at the exchange rate of 2.452 (time I bought the food), it sure will burn a hole in my pocket ;)

The process? contact the distributor in Singapore, get a friend to bring it to Malaysia and collect from the friend. Simple eh?

Well, I have been blessed with good friends who do not mind lending a helping hand. However, on the transaction day, a few logistic nightmares happened that is a learning in itself (note to self: don't cram too many things into a day).

I actually started out early to meet my friend in Machap to take delivery of the food. With time in hand, I thought I traveling to Merlimau to buy dukong (local fruit) for my friend, catch up with a "bird kaki" would be a good idea.

To make a long story short, I underestimated the distance from Merlimau to get back to the highway, and the distance to Machap. Was hauled up halfway by the friendly traffic policemen out to "cari makan" for speeding, nearly run out of fuel and felt terrible still being late :(

OK, now that the food is with me, it better lives up to expectations hehehe!
I have enough stock to last me between 6 to 10 months depending which birds I feed it with. Will report on it in due course, but being recommended by good knowledgeable hobbyists, I have no doubts about it. Now the next hurdle is to get a bird with good traits and see how far he can go (looking at 1 expensive bird at the moment - expensive is rather relative, so its expensive to my standard which by the way is quite low) ;)

Self Censorship

Often, in my zest to share, there are posts that I have to re-evaluate and eventually remove taking into considerations the prevailing laws and sensitivities.
When I post a little too much, is it an act of showing off?
I hope not. It was never the intention. This blog was started to put in text, personal thoughts and experience as an amateur songbird keeper trying to find the best way to enjoy the hobby.

Some friends has suggested that I would truly be enjoying myself in my retirement days since I could devote more time in it. However, bird keeping has not been in my list of things to do during retirement. I plan to keep birds during my productive years and hopefully has nothing to do with them when the time comes for me to retire. The downside of having animals depending on you is the drag on your freedom to travel and move about, the freedom to disappear from "civilisation" for months on end. That would be the main reason why I would not be able to keep any "pets", should I retire and call it a day from my work.

So, while I am at it (bird keeping), I will try to document as much as legally possible, the local birding scenes as I see it. Although, in my opinion, omitting to talk about things like cock-fighting, bird-fighting, gambling, hunting etc. etc. that is happening actually leaves out a huge chunk of information.

Peace to all. Sukhi hotu - may you be well.