The White-rumped Shama, which was once classified as the ‘Copsychus malabaricus,’ lives in the Western Ghats as well as in other regions of India. These little birds have an average weight of between 28 and 34 grams and a length of approximately 9-11 inches.
Female birds are grayish brown in color and slightly shorter than their male counterparts. Male birds have distinctive white feathers on the rump and outer tail, whereas female birds have not. On closer inspection, you’ll notice they both have pink feet and black beaks.
White-rumped Shama infants, regardless of gender, have a coloration that is somewhere between gray and brown, and their chests have either blotches or spots depending on how they were born. When you go to the homes of wealthy people in South Asia, you could find that some of the families keep these birds in enormous cages.
The luscious and mellifluous sound that these birds make is the primary reason why most people choose to keep them as pets. They are able to imitate the calls of other birds, but their own sound is piercing, powerful, and distinct, and it comes in a number of different tunes.
This bird makes a “tck” sound either when it is searching for food or when it is alerting other birds to the presence of an intruder. In 1889, a captive individual in Germany used Ludwig Koch’s Edison wax cylinder to make the very first recording of the song of this bird.
Now that we’ve gotten everything out of the way, let’s dive right into the White Rumped Shama!
The Shama with the White-Fringed Cap
As was indicated earlier, these birds are indigenous to South Asia; nevertheless, in early 1931, they were transferred to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, and then later in the 1940s, they were brought to the island of Oahu.
Food Habits
In the wild, these birds prefer to eat smaller insects, but when they are kept in captivity, they are able to digest a combination of raw meat, egg yolk, and raw legumes that have been boiled first.
Breeding Season
The breeding season begins in March and lasts until August, and throughout that time the males are actively courting the females. After they have located a good female, they will fly up above her, make a loud call, and then spread their tail feathers in a fan pattern.
Following this performance, both the male and the female will fly in a pattern that rises and falls, and if the male is unsuccessful, the female will reject him and threaten him by opening her jaws.
White Rumped Shama Chicks
The White-rumped Shama builds rather straightforward nests out of dried twigs, ferns, roots, and leaves that have fallen to the ground. The number of eggs in a litter might range anywhere from three to five.
The eggs of the White-rumped Shama take between 12 and 15 days to hatch once they are laid. Their eggs are around 0.7 and 0.9 inches long, white or pale aqua in color, and have obvious brown patches over the surface.
They are not in risk of extinction.
The fact that these birds can also be found in many other regions besides South Asia means that they are not regarded to be in danger of extinction and are therefore not included on the list maintained by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
How The White Rumped Shama Live
Males are monogamous throughout the mating season, but once the breeding season is over, they can become aggressive and pick fights with females. throughout the mating season, males are monogamous. In the event that such behavior is witnessed, the male should be taken away from the female immediately.
Because of their erratic nature, these birds frequently travel in smaller groups when they are in the air.
The Lifespan of a White Rumped Shama
In the wild, these birds have been known to live for up to seven years. There is no information available at this time regarding how long they survive when kept in captivity; nevertheless, the average age limit for members of the thrush family is seven years.
Are These Birds Dangerous?
Absolutely not! Having saying that, they have a difficult time coexisting with other species of birds.
They are slow to interact with members of other bird species, and as a result, housing them in a cage with members of other bird species may provoke hostile behavior in them.
Did You Know?
The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Bird Series featured these magnificent birds from 1976 through 1984 on the fifty dollar bills that were issued as part of the series. In addition, they appeared on Singapore’s 50-cent stamps twice, in 1962 and 1978, respectively.
The white-rumped shama is a gorgeous bird with a sweet song, but as we constantly stress, the fact that it is lovely does not mean that it must be confined to a cage. This is especially true if you already have other species of birds in your home.
These birds can be hostile, which may unintentionally cause you to become anxious or for them to become stressed themselves. If you are considering adopting one, it is imperative that you educate yourself on their ways of living as well as their behavior before making a choice.
