Breeding

Q. I am considering breeding a few pairs of shama. i have a very large outdoor aviary that i would like to place a few 4' x 3' cages that are 7' tall. i would like to know if the pair in one cage should be prohibited from seeing the pair in the cage right next to it.

A. Shamas should not be kept within sight of each other. Breeding pairs of shamas especially should not be kept close to each other or to other shamas. See for example the video in the Malaysian Bird Forum under the thread: Breeding Shamas Video- Wild Caught and Captive Bred.

Since the video, there has been further report of success. I would have thought that success would be unlikely as the breeding pair will be constantly stressed by the aggressive songs of the male next door.

Shamas are territorial and ideally, the distance between aviaries should be such that the songs of the birds in one aviary do not excite the pairs in the other aviaries. This is not always possible and there must be compromise.