MY THOUGHTS ON THE WILD-CAUGHT WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA IN CAPTIVITY - PART I

UNDERSTANDING THE NEWLY WILD-CAUGHT WHITE-RUMPED SHAMA

By the time the newly wild-caught shama reaches the shop or its keeper, more often than not, its physical and mental well being would have already been compromised to some extent, due to hunger and due to the cramped and perhaps, sometimes even torturous condition during its storage and the journey. It is extremely terrified and can even be quite disorientated when placed into its cage. The subsequent frantic and seemingly endless but futile attempts to escape from its confinement and from the terrifying new surroundings will only add on to the physical and mental stress to drain the bird further. In this very delicate state, its health and immune system will be further compromised if it also did not receive nourishment quickly. For those that perished during the early stage in captivity, the combination of stress and starvation is usually the primary cause of death.

The novice keeper that is fortunate enough to be able to keep his newly wild-caught bird alive, only to be disappointed months later down the road by its inability to thrive well in captivity, should try to understand that his frustrations were most likely brought about by his failure to acclimatize the bird properly to captivity. He should also try to understand the importance of the early transition period, during the first week or so upon acquiring the bird. Often, laying a good foundation during this initial period goes a long way towards a successful acclimatization of the bird to captivity. For every male wild-caught white-rumped shama that has made it to the arena and fulfilled its purpose in captivity, there will be many others that could not. Often, when they do not make it, the blame is on the birds for being unable to make the grade. Perhaps the novice keeper should also see it from another perspective: that the full potential of a captive male white-rumped shama cannot be unveiled if it is not in good health and that it will also not come into optimal form if it is not fully and properly acclimatized to its captive diet and the captive environment.

A newly wild-caught green leaf bird will quickly adapt to captivity and most will become very tame within a short period of time. A newly wild-caught hwamei, although will be as difficult to tame down as the shama, will rarely starve to death because it will readily eat the dry pelleted food offered in captivity. The wild-caught white-eyes and bulbuls will also easily take to the fruits and the sweetened dry food very quickly and both are by nature, able to withstand very well, the stress associated with captivity. Among the popularly kept songbirds of Asia, the wild-caught white-rumped shama is however, one of the most difficult to adapt and thrive in captivity.

Deep Purple - Mistreated