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.

Food

A shama that enjoys its dry food will peck and eat each granule from the cup. If a granule inadvertently falls on the cage floor, it may even hop down to pick it up. If a shama swishes the dry food with its beak so that some is scattered on the cage floor, it is not because it is a fussy or messy eater. The probable reason is that it does not recognize or fully accept that what is on offer is food. If the shama is recently being taught to eat dry food, insects should be cut and mixed with the dry food until the bird readily eats the dry food. If the bird has previously been eating its dry food well, consider the possible causes for the bird being put off its food and take remedial action.