![]() ![]() I reflected on one little Society Finch (not hand raised incidentally) that incorporated portions of three distinctly different songs from 3 different cocks into his own little song. I began to think about the birds that I had raised over the years and the “songs” that each one subsequently developed. When I visited with him last year in his laboratory at the California Academy of Sciences, he played sonograms or recordings of bird songs and encouraged myself and others to record the vocalizations of the birds that we keep. Luis was fascinated with how birds learn their song. Not unlike our own patterns of human speech and how they differ with geographical regions. Luis Baptista at the California Academy of Sciences devoted much of his life’s work to the study of song in birds – its development and the variations or dialects that exist from region to region. There is a window of time during which birds learn their songs. The hand tamed finches are endearing little souls and offer a whole new dimension to what we think of as pet birds. I know many others who have enjoyed the rich rewards of this labor intensive endeavor. Bengalese, Zebra and the Diamond Firetail Finch are the species that I have worked with. I have hand raised several finches over the past five years. More recently I have heard a hand fed chocolate and white pied Bengalese (Society) finch say, “Flick my bird” – an abbreviated version of what his owner Clara Gontero always said to Flick when she would uncover his cage in the morning, i.e., ……”How is Flick my bird….?” Years ago at a bird show in Medford, OR, I witnessed my first talking finch, a hand fed Java Rice Bird that said the word, “Hello” in a very clear little voice. Talking finches are not that uncommon! I have heard the little Red Headed Finch that was featured in the article utter the word “Turkey” very clearly over the telephone! His talent is limited however…… he did not dial my telephone number.! □
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |