Softbills in a Mixed Species Aviary

Abstract

S oftbills have been housed in a variety of enclosures for centuries. Probably the most common is the simple cage normally used for the household Canary. In the Orient where competitions are held among songbird enthusiasts, the highly ornate cages are worth more than many of the occupants. At the other extreme are the huge flight cages found in many zoos and wild animal parks. Many of these also include reptiles and mammals (those that don't eat birds, of course) as well as birds.

Birds can certainly be enjoyed in any or all of the above but to me the best way to keep softbills is in a fair sized, planted aviary. Too large and the birds are difficult to find, especially the smaller ones; too small, the plants soon take over and again, the birds can't be found.

 

What is "fair sized?" That, of course, depends on how much room you have available and what types of birds you wish to keep. Turacos need far more room than tanagers for example. I think the minimum size for both the birds and your enjoyment would be 32 square feet ( 4 ft. x 8 ft.). This should be as tall as is practical and probably could have one medium sized bushy plant along with six to eight, small, avian occupants. These would have to be in the Pekin Robin or leafbird size range. For those of you forced to keep your birds inside all year, this would fit most bird rooms that I've visited. Ideally, you can provide a larger flight outside.

We have kept softbills in many sized cages over the years. Certain species must be housed alone because of their aggressive nature, or it may be a species that is difficult to breed and must be kept one pair to a flight. For most medium sized softbills, about mynah sized, 4 ft. x 10 ft. or 12 ft. is plenty of room per pair. We breed our mynahs in much smaller flights. For turacos this would be a minimum. It would also be adequate for any of the smaller Ramphastids, such as Emerald Toucanets or Green Aracaris. Many of our softbills are still housed in flights of this size, generally planted with some shrub such as Cape Honeysuckle or Ficus benjamina.

Our most recent aviary and the last (right!) is about 500 square feet. It is nearly 10 ft. tall. One fourth of the roof is solid fiberglass. This is over the safety and feed area. Another fourth is lattice for partial shade (both for the birds as well as the plants. The remainder is

 

wire. This aviary is made with '/z in. x 3 in. mesh. The 3 in. dimension runs horizontally. One half of the west end is wrapped with a tightly woven shade cloth as a wind break. Our prevailing winds are off of the ocean. This is the same end as the safety and feed area, so it keeps rain from blowing in as well.

The aviary contains a wide variety of plants as well as birds. I'm sure the day will come when we will have to thin some of the larger plants, or at least top the taller growing species, such as star pine and Podocarpus. There are several palms in the aviary as well, but these are very slow growing and will end up being someone else's problem long after I'm gone.

We have provided flowering plants that many of the smaller birds enjoy. These include several Grevilleas as well as Saluias and Sweet Broom. There are also banana, bird of paradise, a couple of types of Schef/lera as well as three species of Ficus. The ground cover is mainly Gazania and Verbena. There are hanging ferns as well, but these tend to take a beating even though there are no large birds in the flight. Currently the most destructive birds are the Stella's Lorikeets, which of course, are parrots, not softbills. They are also the only parrots in the flight.

Birds in this aviary include most of our odds and ends, mainly unpaired singles or multiples of the same sex. We do have a few pairs, and these include the above lorikeets as well as a pair of Bali (Rothchild's) Mynahs, White-edged Orioles, Red-winged Laughing Thrushes, Hardwick's Chloropsis (Orange-breasted Leafbird), D'arnud's Barbets, liocichlas, and Blacksmith Plovers. The unpaired species include, a female African jacana, White-striped Tanagers, Bluehooded Euphonias, Pekin Robins, Pied Barbets, Black-headed Sibia, and Redfaced Mousebird.

None of these species are particularly aggressive with other birds. The Bali Mynah male is sometimes tough on the hen, and the plovers will defend an area around their nest, but nothing to the point of killing anything.

 

 

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