Yellow Winged Sugar Bird

Scientific Name: Cyanerpes cvaneus

Origin: South America

This beautiful softbill is quite hardy,' once established and, like the Purple Sugar-bird, is sometimes called a honey creeper. It can live for many years if given the correct type of care. A single pair agrees well with other small birds, but if several sugar birds are kept, they should all be cock birds. If a hen is introduced, fights occur.

Description:

Size: 10 to 13 (4 to 5 in)

COCK (in nuptial plumage):

Body: bright cobalt-bloc. Shoulders, wings, tail: black. Head: turquoise blue on crown. Beneath the wings is an area of yellow. Legs: red. The cock bird molts twice a year.

HEN:

Varying shades of olive green. Legs: creamy-brown. When not in nuptial plumage, the cock resembles the hen, but can always be distinguished by his red legs.

Diet: (Softbill)

As with the Purple Sugarbird, fine grade insectile mixture forms the basic diet. Fruit, such as pears, bananas and oranges, should be provided. Grapes, sultanas and raisins are relished. Large fruit should be suspended on a thread near a perch. Honey and water must be provided in a drinking tube.

This bird may be kept in an outdoor aviary when properly acclimatized, but is seen to best advantage in an indoor room setting. It needs extra warmth in cold weather, and should not be submitted to extremes of temperature at any time. It loves to bathe.

Yellow Winged Sugar Bird Breeding:

To encourage breeding, a pair must be provided with suitable nesting material in the form of soft grasses and mosses. The nest is most often constructed in a dense bush fairly high off the ground.

Two to three eggs are laid and the incubation period is 13 to 14 clays. Plenty of small live food is necessary for rearing.

Yellow Winged Sugar Bird Information

• The bird is very attractive in appearance.
• The male bird produces a beautiful song. The sound produced is so soothing that the call would not sound noisy.
• The birds are very delicate in nature and the novice bird keepers should have a prior experience in rearing other nectar sucking birds.
• The birds are to be kept in large sized indoor cages. The bird can stay out door during the summer months in case the temperature is not less than 60єF.
• To ensure successful breeding the bird can be kept in aviaries where they can be left on their own to breed.
• While buying the bird you must not worry about the condition of the feathers of the bird. All you must make sure is the health of the bird. Check whether the eyes of the bird are bright or not and watch keenly to find out how active is the bird.
• Do not buy the bird if the skin of the bird is not smooth and have deep scratches on it. This can lead to the poor quality of plumage.