Abstract
Editor's Note:
An introduction to this excellent article comes from the author in her cover letter to the editors of the Watch bird magazine. It is very appropriate.
"Hidden in a narrow, somewhat deep valley called Peekskill Hollow, there is a place of mystery, wonderjit! songs and enchantment. A drive up the steep road presents a vista of nature and exotic jlora. Barely visible through all this foliage are the aviaries ofReg Riedel. This article is about the man, his birds and gardens, and his love ofall living things. He is a fascinating personality with a varied, adventurous and even sometimes unbelievable life startingfrom his childhood in war torn Europe to his present day accomplishments in breeding softbills ... some rare and first-time breedings.
This article describes feeding and keeping a/various types ofsoftbills as well as how to purchase and maintain them. This account also includes information on beginner as well as intermediate birds/or the prospective hobbyist. The cbieffocus is on Riedel '.s ideas on how to keep softbills successfully. "
Like a cluster of gems set in a tiara, flowers encircle the hillside. Bright orange day lilies and poppies, Siberian and Japanese iris, like blue topaz, bee balm, lupines, delphiniums, chrysanthemums, and columbines grow against an emerald backdrop. Once this hill was forested and rocky outcrops were the only ornaments. Now it is a terraced vista of plants with small paths leading to the towering wire cages, the aviaries, where the softbills live. Bordering the aviaries and trailing up and around them are a multitude of vines. Morning glory, hybrid honeysuckle, passion vine, thunbergia, clematis and more add color, beauty and vegetation. The creator and keeper of this botanical wonderland is Reg Riedel: he is no less successful in keeping and breeding the softbills which live among these bowers of beauty.
In 1946, Europe was war torn and in a rubble. Hungry refugees sought scarce
food supplies and found little shelter. To avoid the labor camps and communism, the Riedel family decided to secretly migrate from Poland, their home, to western Germany. Since the trip was to be mostly a walking journey, they took just as much as could be carried. Reg, an eight-year-old, was allowed, with much begging and cajoling, to take a turtle and a four-week-old turkey chick. After nine months of walking, mostly at night, they arrived at a refugee camp. The boy still had his pets. The turkey was quite large and he had to guard it with his life, preventing other refugees from stealing it since food remained difficult to obtain. The turkey survived, and when the family managed to be placed on a farm, it lived a long life. Riedel's commitment to this particular turkey began his deep love of birds; but they had been a part of his earlier life as well.
"As long as I can remember," states Riedel, "there were always birds in the household." A major influence was his father. Breeding the more exotic types was difficult then because of lack of information and the absence of highly specialized foods. His father, however, was still able to breed canaries. At various times he had magpies, jackdaws and crows. Later on, the Riedels raised pheasants.
Later in Germany, Reg Riedel bred some European softbills and ornamental pheasants even though travel and life as a professional dancer prevented him from breeding on a larger scale. For the past 10 years he has been able to breed softbills, and in the United States a first breeding was the Velvet-fronted Nuthatch. In the ensuing years he has been the first to breed Siberian Azure Tits, Golden-napped Tanagers, Verditer Fly Catchers, Bearded Reedlings, and Cobalt Niltavas. As a result of his success with insect-eating birds that others, including zoos, have found nearly impossible to breed, Riedel has become wellknown to zoos such as the N.Y. Zoological Society, the Central Park Zoo, San Diego Zoo and Cincinnati Zoo as well as several zoos in Germany and Holland. He has supplied them with captive-born young as well as advising them on the care and maintenance of the birds.
When Riedel graduated to keeping softbills, he learned that the feeding requirements are more restrictive than they are for hookbills. What is true for the serious breeder is also true for the hobbyist. Softbills need fresh food. The feeding requirements for softbills can be divided into the following categories: insect-eating, fruit-eating, omnivorous and nectar-eating birds.
By far the easiest to keep and feed are the omnivorous birds because their diet is varied and therefore more manageable. They can be fed fruits, tofu, pet food preparations such as dog and cat food as well as meal worms, crickets and fly larvae. Birds, such as the Pekin Robin, and some jays, will eat and survive for a short time on seeds of various types. Some of these foods can be obtained easily from grocery and pet stores; and, with vitamin and mineral supplements, a well-balanced diet can be obtained.
The insect-eaters such as the flycatchers can eat insects obtained from pet supply stores and specialized wholesalers. These insects can remain alive over several days in a container. It is possible to leave the birds with a full container for more than one day. Almost all birds, except doves and pigeons to some extent, are insectivorous. Many of the birds which are considered nectar-eating or seed-eating need the protein of insects to get into breeding condition.
With the development of nectar-plus, a commercially available nectar diet, it is now possible to keep the nectar-eating birds, such as hummingbirds, honey creepers and even sun birds. Nectar-eaters need a feeding two times a dayonce in the morning and then in the evening. However, the drawback to the formula nectar is that it spoils rapidly and the remaining portions left in the feeding vessel must be discarded each day and the vessel cleaned. Adding fruit flies to the diet will stimulate breeding among the hummingbirds.
Unfortunately, the most labor intense birds to keep are those that are strictly fruit eaters such as the tanagers and some broad bills such as the Lesser Green Broadbill. This is unfortunate since some of the most beautiful and desirable softbills fall into this category. Fruit spoils very rapidly; therefore, fresh fruit must be chopped up and presented daily. This is an absolute must since eating spoiled fruit can kill the birds.