Brudders Yeap and canary (aka Jacky) showed some interest in the Golden Fronted Leafbird in another topic. Although I have volunteered some information about the bird and its general care, I thought that it actually merits a separate new topic. So here we are then...
First some pictures about the two types of most sought after leafbirds.
The most common and legal (no need for licence) is the Golden Fronted leafbird. Its found in Upper India, Burma across to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, south China, Sumatra.
A couple of photos : Golden Fronted leafbird
The second most sought after leafbird is the Greater Green leafbird. This bird is fully protected in Malaysia and if I correct, in all Asean countries - not sure about Singapore - they don't seem to afford much protection to birds.
Here is a picture of the Greater Green leafbird:
(Damn! the picture wouldn't load!)
An immediate difference is the absence of the yellow/gold plummage on the crown and below the blue breast.
CAUTION: RM5000/= Fine and/or jail for keeping the Greater Green leafbird.
General notes on caring for Golden Fronted leafbird:
Golden fronted leafbird
Fabulous songster. It is a good mimic of all sorts of sounds. But it cannot beat the Shama, thats just a personal opinion.
What it lacks in terms of song, it makes up for it with its brilliant plummage as compared to the dull brown, balck and white rump of the Shama.
It is a messy eater, you can be sure that will mess up its cage - the sides and also the floor when it feeds.
Feed:
1) Same pellets as Puteh, if you can get har liew thats good, if not use my greenbean recipe.
2) Fresh fruits daily. Favourites are: papayas, apples, oranges, bananas and the star angled bean (this is a vegetable with a hard/tough skin, the Chinese usually boil soup with it, cut it cross-section and stick it on the fork).
3) Appreciates live food - order of priority: grasshoppers, honeybees, beetle grubs (fat juicy ones, you can find them in rotten tree trunks underneath the bark) and small crickets.
4) Nectar (as per my recipe, include a tiny bit of Vit B is ok) twice or three times a week.
Btw, make sure you provide lots of water, it drinks quite abit.
5) Cage: similar to Jambul cages but get a bigger one - at least Ht2.75', Width 2' x 2'.
6) Easily tamed, similar method to what I prescribed for Putehs
7) No licence required but do note that these birds are being trapped by the dozens, especially in the Yunnan region and Vietnam. So buying one means that you are also perpetuating the trade in these lovely birds.
8. Cage is hung about one to two feet above your head.
9) Get a simple cage with as few carvings on the bamboo sides etc. The cage must allow the beauty of the Golden leaf bird shine through and not be distracted by all sorts of carvings and bone china.
10) It sings less when its in an aviary unless the aviary is well planted.
11) Can be bred but problem is difficulty in finding a female.
12) Loves to bathe and loves the morning sun - an hour at least daily.
Would love to get one if I can get the space to keep it. I had one a few years ago and I gave it to a friend in exchange for his tame budgie who could do tricks.
Aiya! Forgot to mention one other thing: The Golden Fronted leaf bird can be conditioned to respond to your whistling. If you can mimic his song, when you whistle, the fellow will respond. Of course you can't teach it in one day. If I remember correctly, it took me more than a month to get my ex-GF leafbird to respond.
One more point: If you really want a Best- Best songster, then get our local Greater Green Leafbird. It looks like the Golden Fronted but without the gold plummage. Our local Greater Greenleafbird is loud and it is a far better mimic, sometimes it would rival even the Shama.
BUT - its totally protected - RM5000/= fine ! Or jail ! Orang Asli is
exempted.
IF you do happen to have a Greater Green leafbird, I don't suppose the general care for the bird would differ very much from the Golden Fronted leafbird. At least thats what I had observed of the Greater Green leafbird in the wild. They seem to share the same tastes as Goldne Fronted leafbirds.
warmest regards,
Sam
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