Are you looking to learn more about birds that are quite particular and very beautiful to look at? Because if so, you might want to learn a little more about the African Silverbill, one of the most beautiful birds in the world.
Contents
What is their habitat?
The African Silverbill, known by the scientific name of Lonchura Cantans, is a bird that lives in Africa. Its habitat is distributed from Senegal to the Red Sea in East Africa, as well as in central Tanzania.
He usually lives in dry places, near water. It is a bird that can acclimatize very well to changes in temperature, being able to withstand temperatures of around 10º C without many problems.
And what does it look like?
It is a small bird that measures 11 cm. Its plumage is brown, which is darker in the tail and wing area. The belly is lighter in colour, while its beak and legs are grey. The color of its beak has a silvery shade, the motif of its name.
It presents a slight sexual dimorphism, but not by the color of the feathers as it happens with other birds. In this case, it is because of the way they sing, as males tend to make a gentle chirp, while females lack it completely. When they are young, the color of their feathers is a little more grayish.
They are quite sociable birds and not a few have managed to train them to land on their fingers or even to get them out of their cages and show them to visitors. Because it is such an easy care bird, it is perfect for those who are starting to care for a bird for the first time.
What do you have to know to take care of it?
First of all, the cage. This has to be a medium size, about 50 – 60 centimeters long, as it likes to fly from one side to another very much. It is necessary to avoid at all times that the cage is in the shape of a hut or oval, as this is something that is very stressful for these birds. Also, your location should not be in areas with a lot of smoke or traffic noise, because at first it is a very frightening bird until it gets used to its environment and that could stress it out.
The diet of these birds is made up of panizo, millet from Senegal, canary seed and plantain ears. But when they are raised, they will need flourworms, ant eggs and other field insects. They will like the millet mixture to be made from smaller seeds, which is normal for finches.
If you’ve never had the opportunity to raise a bird species, now is your time, because no bird family is easier to raise than this one. In fact, little needs to be done for them to begin to breed, except to put two individuals together in the same cage and have a nest box with a hole for the male to proceed with the bridal dance.
If successful in reproduction, the female will lay three to six eggs, with a few days difference in each clutch, and hatch them for 12 days. Although it is a bird that breeds very well, they are not such good parents, so you will have to be very careful with the chicks that will take about a month to leave the nest.
Related Entries
