Boy Wonder

About a month ago, I published a video of Boy Wonder on this blog.  His form was rising and he was starting to chai causing me to think that he had completed his 2nd molt.  One of his primary tails was then about 1" shorter than the other but this was probably because the old tails had shed at different times.

However, Boy Wonder had not completed his molt and his tails continued to grow.  I was lucky that they were not spoilt by bringing him out to chai too early.  During the growth of the tails, the base is soft.  They are filled with blood and can be easily damaged if the bird waves the tails vigorously.  This is especially so with long-tailed birds towards the end of the tails' growth.

Not only have the tails become longer, but the shorter primary tail has also grown until both tails are about the same length. He is now approaching peak condition.

I usually do not spend time training my birds but most of them are now molting and I have some free time in the evenings.  For the past 2 Thursdays, I have taken Boy Wonder to the night chai at Serangoon North (Singapore).  Although I had not brought him out to chai previously, he was not very nervous in the car and performed well the first Thursday.  He did much better last Thursday and I expect that if I bring him out this coming Thursday, he will show substantial improvement as he will have got used to being transported, especially at night.

The video below shows him singing on his own under artificial lighting at his location in my home as I am getting him ready for bed at night.  The bird singing in the background is about 10 metres away, in my indoor aviary.

Boy wonder learns new songs readily.  These include the songs of the Samyong and the Yellow-vented Bulbul.  The song of the yellow-vented bulbul can be heard at 0.30 and again at 1.05 of the recording.