Breeding Cissas and Other Asian Corvids

Photos and Text by Roland and /lana Cristo

FAMILY - but heard. When not breeding they housed in walk-in flights, 3 X 4 feet SUB-FAMILY - CORVINAE gather in small parties and move wide and 16 to 20 feet long. The TRIBE - CORVINA through the forest, joining forces flight sections are 6 feet high. The with laughing thrushes. They feed undercover sections are 8 feet high close to or on the ground consum­ "Cissa are perhaps the most beautiful and 4-6 feet long and covered on ing small insects, small reptiles and three sides. The perch in this section of the whole family. " (Delacour). . is 2 feet higher than the perch in the They are solitary nesters, the flight area. This protects the birds f all the birds in the COlVid nest being described as a "large, from any wind. We have automatic family, Cissas are perhaps rather flat platform of twigs inter­ waterers that continually drip. The the most sought after in avi­ O woven with leaves bamboo and central aisleway has a night-light. It culture. roots, cup lined with finer plant provides just enough light to allow There are three of material, built in low shrubbery, the birds to see where they are Cissas with 12 sub-species. The bamboo thickets, vine tangles in the going if they were startled off their Green (Cissa chinensis), also canopy of a small tree." perches. known as the Long-tailed Hunting Cissas are a little larger than the We have a mister system that is Cissa in aviculture, comes from the American Blue 03-14 inches). controlled by a 96-setting timer Malay Peninsula up into Annam They are a beautiful light green color (timed for every 15 minutes) and a (Vietnam) and as far north as China. with chestnut-red colored wings, a Four sub-species are on the main­ thermostat. Each one can override black mask and red-orange beak, the other. When the temperature land with one sub-species, C. c. feet and eye ring. The green color minor, coming from the islands of goes above the thermostat setting it seems to fade to a light blue color in Sumatra to Burma. We have the will turn on the misters if the timer is captivity if the birds are exposed to mainland sub-species, Cissa c. klossi, at an on setting. and Cissa c. minor, the island sub­ too much sunlight and perhaps not We try to plant at least one species, which is smaller than the given enough caratenoids in the podicmpus plant in the aviary. In mainland birds. diet. The males seem to turn more fact the long-tailed Cissas have built The Short-tailed Hunting Cissa bluish than the females. The young their nest in it two years in a row. (Cissa thalassina) comes from two we have raised all had bluish or islands, Java and Borneo. We have a turquoise feathers. Interestingly, FEEDING female of the Javan sub-species Lynn Hall, fruit dove breeder and Basic Diet Cissa t. thalassina. The Short-tailed expert, informed me of seeing The Cissas are fed "soft food" has quite a musical song much like recently caught birds that were mix (appendix A) daily along with a songbird's. The other species we entirely blue at markets in ground beef heart (Chili grind) and keep don't seem to. Singapore. They do seem to spend mealworms. The soft food is a mois­ Three sub-species of the most of their time in the aviary shel­ tened mixture of the basic diet. Yellow-breasted Magpie (Cissa ter or in the shade of the plants in Defrosted mixed vegetables are hypoleuca) come from Annam the aviary. added to the soft food every other (Vietnam), Laos, and Thailand. The word "hunting" does day. Dry food mix (appendix B) or There are two isolated sub-species describe the method the pair uses to basic diet is kept in their cage con­ in China. The Yellow-breasted have capture their prey. When the prey stantly. Ingredients for both are list­ a longer crest and display it far more (usually a feeder mouse) is spotted ed later in this paper. often than the other species. The in the grass; the pair of cissas will species we keep are the nominate stalk it together (like a brace of Mice Cissa h. hypoleuca. dogs) on either side of the aviary We feed mice sporadically until it is cornered. At that point the throughout the year. When the hen HABITAT male will usually make the kill. starts building her nest we feed mice Cissas live along the border of daily in the early morning. Once the the subtropical and tropical forest HOUSING hen is setting, we feed mice again in from sea level to 1800 feet +/-. In We live at an elevation of 1200 mid-afternoon. The mice are selVed their natural habitat, they spend feet and the temperature gets below live in a mixing bowl. We believe most of their time in the lower freeZing at night during the winter this helps keep the male occupied. shrubs and are generally not seen (down to 15 degrees). The birds are We have had males that predated

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the afa WATCHBIRD 29 eggs stop doing so when fed mice ready to lay. Therefore it is a contin­ ents stopped eating soft food and every day during the nesting period. ual job of us rebuilding their nest beef heart for a while. It was quite In earlier years we fed mice until eggs are laid. Once eggs are hazardous serving the pair. The four times a day when babies were laid they generally don't tear the female would leave the nest calling on the nest. By the 21st day we were nests apart. We have done this with and complaining and the male feeding 20-25 mice a day. Since Cissas, Blue , , and would scold and dive at the person then, once the young are half feath­ Jays with good results. entering the aviary. The offering of ered or more, at about 12-14 days, The hen will generally lay 3-4 food meant nothing to him. He even we feed mice only in the early eggs, one each day. She will "set" drew blood from my ear. morning and in the evening. At between the first and the second The babies grow quickly and noon, they get another serving of egg. During incubation, there does­ the food offered is also increased. At ground beef heart. n't seem to be many problems. approximately 20 days the oldest or Incubation is 18-20 days. Chicks are strongest (we assume) baby starts to BREEDING CISSAS hatched bare-naked and look like perch on the edge of the nest. The We have bred Long-tailed food. rest perch shortly after, about 2-3 Cissas every year since 1997 and The male keeps vigil guard. At days. Yellow-breasted Cissas since 1999. first the hen will come off the nest At about 25 days the chicks are when hearing someone approach standing on the perches away from NESTS, NESTING, AND BREEDING the flight. Shortly into incubation, the nest. They could be found on We buy baskets from import she will "set tight" unless someone the ground and are able to hop and stores and nurseries to use for nest­ comes into the aviary to drop mice scramble up the perches to the high­ ing receptacles for the birds. The in their feeding bowl. As the incuba­ est perching "branch" and nest. approximate dimensions vary from tion continues, she will stay on the During this entire time they are year to year. This year the baskets nest even after the flight door is always fed soft food, and ground measure 9 inches inside diameter at opened, especially when the eggs beef heart. At about 24 days old, the the top and are 5 inches deep. What are close to hatching. At this time, soft food mix and more beef heart we look for after the nest is built is the male sounds an alarm or start to disappear. We never actually to only see the hen's head while she becomes aggressive, she may leave see the chicks eat the food but the is setting. She is still able to see over the nest temporarily always going to amount was increased and it always the edge when she sticks her head a high perch. (the Yellow-breasted seems as though less was left. They up. always go to the ground). About two also start to eat the dry mix as more We mount the baskets onto an days prior to the eggs hatching, the of that disappeared also. upside down "L" shaped platform in male seems to become even bolder The amount of mice served is such a way that eggs and young can and more aggressive hitting me on decreased and the amount of beef be checked on a regular basis with­ the head as I feed mice in the morn­ heart and soft food is increased. At out any difficulty of taking down ings. Once chicks hatch the pair 29 days, the chicks are increasing and putting the nests back up. We seem to be devoted parents. their activity and will fly to the "out­ place the basket up in a corner of In about 18-20 days, the eggs side" perches and hop along the the shelter section. We have had begin to hatch, showing completely branches and perches. They start to hens that nest from 4 feet off the naked, sightless, and helpless chicks. call and scold like the parents. The ground to 7 feet (top of shelter). The parents feed the chicks meal­ Yellow-breasteds will fully display We use "rushes" (appendix C) worms and pieces of mice for the their crest feathers. At 31 days their as nesting materials. We have had first 3-4 days after hatching. After 3- landings are much more accurate. hens that built a neat nest in one 4 days the parents stop feeding Soft food consumption increases day. We have found that if not mealworms. After 5-6 days, the num­ along with that of ground beef heart. enough material is provided at one bers of mice given the parents are The young have all feathered time for the hen to complete her increased to 3-4 per feeding and out a powder blue color. We pre­ nest she will build and tear down served 2-3 times per day. It appears sume this is due to the lack of her nest. that all parts of the mice are either carotene in the diet the young are There are times when a hen fed or eaten by the parents. being fed, as the basic diet for the will lay her eggs in a basket without Remnants of the mice could not be first two weeks is meat. They don't constructing a nest. When we have a found. The parents throw up cast­ become the same color as the par­ hen that doesn't build a nest we will ings much like raptors do. ents until they go through their first construct a nest for her out of rush­ Babies have pinfeathers at adult molt. They appear to be a es with mowed grass at the bottom approximately 11 days. Their eyes blue-gray color instead of the of it. The birds will sometimes open at 12 days. Up to approxi­ turquoise or light green of the par­ immediately lay in such a nest. But mately 12-14 days old, the parents ents. Their beaks are also grayish in most of the time they will tear it are given 10-15 mice per day and color and their feet are a fleshy pink apart until such time as they are served three times per day. The par- color instead of the adult orange

30 Fourth Quarter 2002 color. through all of India to southern Vietnaln. They are found in most OrnER AsIAN CORVIDS habitats throughout their range and The Blue Magpie ( are considered one of the lnost com­ erth rorhyncha) and the Rufou mon birds in India. They 1110ve ( vagabunda) about in pairs and small pa1ties as ociating with pigeons and bar­ Blue Magpie bets. These birds are very much the Th y rarely spend tin1e on the san1e shape as our COlnmon ground. Their diet includes invelte­ American Magpie. Body size i brates, fruit sn1all bird , lizards and about twice that as our with rodents. a long graduated tail, total I ngth approximately 26 inch long. In Captivity: During display Their head, neck, upper man­ the birds will face each other bow­ tle, and upper breast are black. ing and touching beaks. The call is There i a large pale whitish area fabulous. It is a loud n1etallic fron1 near or 111id crown to nape and flute/bell-like ound done first by hind-neck. The breast is off-white to the male then female. We have bred white in S0111e bird. Th upper palts the Treepies for three years. Their are a dull lnedium blue washed breeding r quirements are similar to lnauv; upper tail coverts scaled the Cis as although they are not as black; wings, 111antl , and upper-tail Shorl-tailed Cissa female dependent on mice to feed their 111auve blue with each feather tipped young. white. The bill and legs are recl. No CISSAS, BLUE MAGPIES, TREEPIES AND obvious sexual dimorphis111 is AVICULTURE Breeding: It is velY interesting apparent. There are five races recog­ Corvids (crows, magpies, jays) to watch the n1ale display to his nized. comprise a falnily of more than 100 Inate. He will face hi 111ate and species. They are di tributed world approach her walking along the Habitat: They can be found in wide except in the Polar Region. As perch. He will tip his body to one subtropical and temperate foothill aviary subjects they are fa cinating side. He partially spread, his wings evergreen forests between 300n1 and very intelligent. These three and raises and spr ads tail while ascending to as high as 3,000n1 in species palticularly so. singing a low pitch song to her. the Ulnlner. They range froln We have bred the Blue Maopie Eastern and S. Easter11 Asia along the for several years. The ecology is Hilualayas, Foothills notth and east comparable to the Cissa . We use a through most of eastern China. similar ba ket that is larger. Blue Magpies are arboreal oirds, 1110ving in sn1all patties fre­ Rufous Treepies quenting clearings and ravines. Their Treepies are a little bigger than diet is Inuch the sa111e as Cissas to Cissas and slnaller than Blue which they are clo ly related. Magpies. They are approxi111ately 19 inches long including the tail. The tail is 11-12in. long. The head neck, breast and upper 111antle are a ooty black to black (hens are nonnally less intense black). The mantle, back, and sca pulars are a darker brown-rusty orange; wing covetts and tertials are a pale grayish wrute continuing with the browrush-black of the rest of the wing. Tail feathers are grayi h white to white ending in a black terminal band. The two cen­ tral feathers ar elongated. Sexes are very sinwar.

Habits and Habitat: The Treepies range froln Pakistan east Yellou '-breasted Cissa Rl{fous Treepies the afa WATCHBIRD 31 They sh uldn't be kept in a them. This is true with many species and always stole objects froin pock­ mixed species aviary unless th though. Without comn1unication ets and various places in th house aviary is very large well planted and through some kind of forum and to hide then1 somewher else. This the other birds are is a natural silnilar or larger behavior but sized. They are fas­ none the less cinating kept a frustrating and pairs. They ar con1ical. It wa easy to care for la ter acclin1ated and long lived. back to "natur " There have been and set fre . accounts of Blue Magpies living for REFERENCES AND more than 20 ADDmONAL years. INFORMATION Information Angell, T.; 1978 on keeping and Rauens, Crows bre ding Cissas is Magpies, and JaJ 'parse and inaccu­ University of rate. For example, Washington Pr ss. in our research Delacour J.' 1936 the infom1ation on Aviculture olume 1, Cis as tates th'lt These Yellow-breasted and Long-tailed Cissas have JUSl heen released/rom quaran­ tephen Austin and they are reclusive. tine a17d are happi~v adjllsting /0 new aviaries belonging /0 the authors. Sons, LTD ., I-krtford. Our xperience Madge, Ste e and froin working with the three species studbook set-up, aviculture in the Burn, HilalY; Crows aJld Jc~ys , 1994, is that they ar bold and curious. United States will lose Inost of the Houghton Mifflin ompany. Unlike the Blue Magpie and th fascinating birds it has known. Plasse, Chelle; 1992 AFA Proceedings, Corvids. Tr epies the Cis 'a' are at the feed For several years a group in the Sunset Western Garden Book, Sunset publishing trays every morning as we place the AFA has tried to stalt a "Softbill Woolham, Frank; Tbe Handhook uIAuiclILlure, food in the aviary. Society" with no success. Blandford Press. In captivity, the Blue Magpie is The National Finch and Softbill the most cOlTIlnonly k pt bird fol­ ociety has been around for n1any APpr~IX A lowed by the Cissas th n th y ar . It' about tun that those I'll Soft Mix Treepies. call the "AFA Softbill' people join 1 part Kaytec Mynah pellet The basic problen1 with thes NFF and stalt working with their ] pan Purina utriblend Green pigeon fe d specie is the lack of communication birds in the Finch and Softbill Sav 1 pan Dog food between individuals who keep prograin. 1 pan game bird chow (crumbles) My fascination with corvids 2 parts defrosted frozen mixed egetable, began wh n at the age of 12 I Soak each of the P;:lIts above, except game bird The AFA office address and helped n1y broth r hand raise over chow, individually in one pan water each, contact information is: 20 native magpies and some crows. when the soaked pans are softened, mix all Through the years, I have found that part') together. the corvid falnily is far n10re intelli­ American Federation of gent than any of the birds I have APPENDIX B Aviculture worked with, including any Dry Mix P.O . Box 7312 pSittacines. Plasse & Angell write "Of 1.5 palts Purina utrihlend Gr en pigeon feed N. Kansas City, Missouri all birds, Corvids have the largest 1.0 parts Kayte Mynah pell ~ 54116 cerebral helnispheres, relative to palts Since Diet light cat food th ir body size. Under operant con­ Telephone ditioning n1ethods, crows have been APPENDIX C (816) 421-2473 (BIRD) found to be superior in intelligence Rushes - Juncus to all other avian species tested." "Rushes somewhat resemble gras, es, with leaf Ilana s fascination with corvids like, cylindrical stems and tiny, inconspicuous FAX began in 1964 wh n she hand raised flowers clustered near stem tips. pecialist') u u­ (816) 421 -3214 an Eastern Blue Jay. It proved to h ally suggest planting them with grasse ' or an iptelligent nli 'chievious clown. It aquatic plants at the edge of a pond or SU'eam Email k pt itself bu y and amused by caus­ in wa ter"' .:. [email protected] ing chaos and teasing all the other birds in the house. It was very bold 32 Fourth Quarter 2002