FUNKIE THE JUVENILE SHAMA

This is Funkie, my four month old juvenile male shama. He came to me at about a month old from his breeder, my friend David de Souza. He is now entering into the early phase of his first molt. This dull looking youngster will undergo a complete makeover from this first molt, emerging from the transformation wearing the attractive full colors of the adult male white-rumped shama. He looked really ruffled up and untidy at this stage of the molt. This video was taken 9 days ago.

Realizing that his days of being a juvenile are numbered, Punky Funkie engaged the adult males that were around him on this day, with a ‘chickish’ imitation of the fanciful-tail display.

This photo below was taken today for comparison, to see the changes that he had undergone within this short period.

The chest is already starting to take on the rich chestnut color of the adult male shama and the head, neck and back are getting darker by the day with the growth of new feathers. In due time, they will smoothen out and will be silky black and glossy. The two remaining white tail feathers will be gone in a day or two. The primary feathers of the wings will take turns to shed and grow, over the course of the molt. It is expected that his tail will be at least 10 inches long from this first molt and the longer pair of black tail feathers had already appeared. It’s going to be a long while more for the molt to complete.



Meanwhile, before all his energy will be called up to grow that fanciful long tail, Funkie summons up whatever that is left in him to practice a few moves of the adult male, in anticipation of the exciting future that lies ahead













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