Purchased Nest

I bought this nest at the pet shop, put it into their apartment, and they ignored it for the entire day, giving it a wide berth. When I arrived home after dark, though, they were both in it, comfy and warm. Before I made this photo they were side by side having an afternoon snooze, but Darryl was camera shy for the moment.

New Nest on New Platform

Presto! This morning there was a new nest on the new platform, and when I came home late this evening, they were both snuggled together, with their backsides against the cage, their tails sticking straight up, fast asleep in the nest. They seem to get cuter every day.

Second Nest?

There has been no activity on the second platform (at left) where I thought D&D would build another nest. I did see them sharing the existing nest, so one might be enough for them.

Yesterday, Daryl spent a lot of time sleeping in the middle of the day, with his head tucked beneath his wing, and I am a bit concerned. At other times, though, he is quite chipper, hopping around the cage, and chasing Darryl.

To keep them healthy, this morning I gave them fresh seeds and water, and an asparagus tip, some minced fresh carrots, and a piece of millet stem covered with seeds which they demolished immediately.

New Platform

The birds seem to want to build another nest somewhere, so I have built another platform opposite the present one. I think they have enough string bits for another nest.

I bought a box of string bits--who'd have thought?--and the birds seem to like that as a building material.  Actually, it looks quite comfy.

This was a very nice nest a few minutes before I made this photo, but Darryl came along and, with one mighty tug, pulled half the nest over the edge. A few days ago I tried putting a box top onto the platform thinking it would help contain their materials but Daryl went berserk and I had to remove it. He is afraid of (some) strange objects.

Still Nesting

Daryl and Darryl are still building their nest. Actually, they build one, then tear it down, then build another. They might be practicing.

On Saturday, at the market, I bought a piece (a mat?) of dried moss, and tore bits of it off the main piece. They seem to like that material for their nest, and it stays in place better than the sticks which they were using before.

I'll make some photos tomorrow--if the nest is still there.

Darryl's Nest...sort of

Before he threw all of the twigs down to the bottom of the cage, this is what Darryl's construction looked like:

Decorating?

I am beginning to notice fragments of those plants jammed into other parts of the cage, and am beginning to think that Darryl is not nest-building; I think he is simply decorating his home. And I saw Daryl transporting a twig, too, so he may be a decorator trying to hide the fact.

Close-up of Daryl

Notice the fine, small feathers in the close view of Daryl.

Meet Daryl

This is Daryl. He is the smaller one, and he antagonizes Darryl. While Darryl builds the nest, Daryl observes and makes snide remarks.

Nest Building

Those smooth plant stems which I put into the cage as building materials, which I later found on the floor outside the cage, were obviously not what Darryl wanted for the nest. So I cut up some dried plants which I was using for decoration on top of the bookshelf, and that seems more to the liking of these little builders (actually, I think only Darryl is building; Daryl is an observer).

Finch Feathers

For all you photography buffs and birders here is a detail of Daryl's breast feathers. It may look like an etching, but it is not. D&D bathe every morning, and keep their feathers clean and groomed. Notice that some of the brown feathers have white tips--quite an engineering feat!

Etsy Sales

I sold another photo on the Etsy site:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35650147

to someone with very good taste in Virginia, and I will be delivering one of the same image--but a larger print--to someone in Ontario. It is one of my most beautiful images, if I may say so myself.

Nesting Containers

I have a hollow ceramic sphere, which has various holes in it, which I thought would give the birds a place in which to build a nest. I hung it from the top of the cage and, while Daryl was indifferent to it, Darryl went berserk flying around the cage like a maniac and staying as far away from the sphere as possible. After about 15 minutes I had to remove it lest Darryl crash into something in his efforts to avoid that strange object.

I found another--more natural--container shown above which I could attach to the outside of the cage over one of the many door locations, after having removed the door, but Darryl was having none of it. As I held it in position over the door location to see how it would fit, he went into another fit of flying about like a crazed bird. Scratch that idea.

Nest Architecture

For the past several days, the birds have been trying to build a nest, I think. Daryl has tried to start the construction with the remains of a spray of millet, a stem which he finally managed to wedge into the side of the cage at the top corner.

To help him in his architectural quest, I put into the cage a tray of cut pieces of stems from an old physalis plant all of which I found on the floor after a few hours. Daryl was apparently unable to get them to lodge into the place which he had intended for them.

Now I am wondering how I can help him to progress in the construction of a nest.

A Brief Message From Our Sponsor

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Strauski

This is a link to my site on Etsy where I sell photos, and where you can see a larger photo of Daryl And Darryl.

Cages

I tried on this transport cage to see how it might feel to the birds, and found that it is a bit small for me. They might feel quite comfortable in it, however, at least for the short trip home

Cage Architecture

This is the first cage I made for transporting the birds, but I decided that it was too small, so I made another like this one which is a perfect white cube.

Cages

I hate the fact that Daryl and Darryl have to live in a cage. For birds which might live in an area of several square miles, a cage seems more like a prison. These guys, however, were born in captivity, and I am hoping that they will be happy in the rather commodious digs which I have made for them.

Introduction

I met Daryl and Darryl in early November, 2009, in a huge fairgrounds building where there was a show of various types of finches. (They are Zebra finches.)

Luke had brought a cage with four finches for me to choose from, and, as luck would have it, I brought a cage in which to transport them.

This is the blog of Daryl and Darryl as ghost-written by Strauski, their roommate.