BLUE BILL

(spermophaga haematina)

di Enzo Patanè

"Allevamento Agata"

DESCRIPTION

Dimension 14- 15 cm. The male have the breast and the throat scarlet red, the back, the belly, the tail and the facial mask are intensev black, bill is metallic blue with a orange-red tip and the reddish eyes have an white ring. The difference of sexual is obvious because the female show on belly a white thick spot and the red of the facial mask extends beyond the eye towards the nape.

 

Breeding in captivity

 

From many years I breed the exotic birds from the African continent and parakeets for their beauty, but I truly remained bewitched when, in the atumn of 1995, I saw, near a famous importer of my city, for the first time a blue bill.

Literally, I was been strange from the contrast of the red of the chest and face with the black polish of the wings and belly and I was been bewitched from that powerful metallic spout from the orangetip .

Saying and fact, the same evening a pair was in my breeding room.

After that first pair, I have acquired, in various times, other pairs and exemplary in order to replace those deceaseds.

Unfortunately the repeated attempts of reproduction all turned out, and already the delusion took to the place of the euphoria when after a removal I had finally the opportunity to transfer one pair in one indoor aviary of 3x2x2 mt in company of others waxbills and finches.

 

The result not make to attend too much and, in the winter of 1997, the male constructed, in a high bush, an voluminous spherical nest in which the female make two depositions from four eggs but not fertilized.

Unfortunately after these two depositions I not have had more riproductive signs.

In the september of 1998 I replaced the male of the pair,with an other male of importation and I arranged them in a big cage of my construction of 150 x 70 x 50 cm in company of one pair of Gould, one pair of Red-bellied Firefinch and one of Blue-headed Waxbill .

To the inside I arranged vary nests of various forms and dimensions and I began to supply a follows feeding : - mixed seeds for exotic enriched of conditioned seeds, canary seeds,and little small sunflower; - iperproteic patè of my fabrication, - animal alive food supplied regularly.

In the November of 1998 I already discovered the male attempt to transport long fibers of coconut in a nest of 20x20x15. I don't lost time and I did supply abundant material for the nest noticing one remarkable preference for the coconut and the iuta.

The 7 december I observed that the female was passing within the nest and I waited for until the 12th in order carrying out the inspection and to discovered four large white eggs.

For securety I taked the place three of those, with plastic eggs,and I put to them in broods under one reliable pair of sparrows of Japan.

After a week I discovered two fecund eggs and the 24 December borned a beautiful rose pullus with a shave plumage white and with two fleshy white "protuberances" to sides of the bill.

The pullus grew, well fed dearly from the sparrows and attended from my wife Francesca, while the 1 January, day in which I supplied to ringer the pullus with a ring of type B, I found a pullus died in the cage of the blue bill.

The 15 of January the pullus exited from the nest showing a complete opaque black livery and was alone at the beginning of February that I observed of the littles white tips on the belly that they allowed me to identify pullus like a female.

The young was separated the 15 February and currently it is making one most complicated moulting that already show the splendid red chest.

Today 14 February others three youngs of spermethes are escapes from the nest of an other pair of sparrows and I hope of to keep healty until the weaning.