Last night I’d visited the Vietnamese forum to read some of their posts. I ran across one particular thread of pets shops that have birds for sale. From my reading, wild baby shamas that are still being hand-fed are priced about 8 to 10 dollars US each. Wild juveniles that have learnt to fly and eat on their own are priced about 10 to 15 dollars US each.
What’s interesting to me is that wild adult male shamas with tails 20 cm or shorter are priced between 5 to 7 dollars US only. I wonder why wild adults are cheaper then babies and juveniles! Price seems to vary between seasons………….like during the molting season since it’s difficult to catch wild birds……..price goes up and not many are available. Price goes down after the molt and during the breeding season…………during that particular time wild birds are plenty………therefore, price goes down a bit.
Here is a pix I gathered on the Vietnamese forum of a wild caught male shama just after being trapped with tails of about 20-22 cm long. One day I hope to be able to venture with those birds’ trappers in Vietnam just to see how it’s all done.
