Domestic Birds

Common Myna (Animal of India, Australia)

He includes croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks and whistles, and the bird often fluffs its feathers and bobs its head in singing. The Common Myna screeches warnings to its mate or other birds in cases of predators in proximity or when its about to take off flying. Common Mynas are popular as cage birds for their singing and "speaking" abilities. Before sleeping in communal roosts, mynas vocalise in unison, which is known as "communal noise"

The Common Myna uses the nests of woodpeckers, parakeets, etc. and easily takes to nest boxes; it has been recorded evicting the chicks of previously nesting pairs by holding them in the beak and later sometimes not even using the emptied nest boxes. This aggressive behaviour is considered to contribute to its success as an invasive species.

During the breeding season, the daytime activity-time budget of Common Myna in Pune in April to June 1978 has been recorded to comprise the following: nesting activity (42%), scanning the environment (28%), locomotion (12%), feeding (4%), vocalisation (7%) and preening-related activities, interactions and other activities (7%).

Barbary Dove (Animal of North Africa)

The coo of the ringneck dove is created by musclus that vibrate air sent up from the dove's lugns. These muscles belong to the fastest known class of vertabrite muscles, contracting as much as ten times faster than muscles vertebrates use for running. This class of muscles is usually found in high speed tissue such as a  tail. Ringneck doves are the first bird species to have been found to have this class of muscle.

However, it has been observed or theorized that individual doves are unlikely to fare well. Ringneck Doves released to the wild cannot readily survive, as they are not equipped to live wild in most climates, have no natural fear of , and have never learned to distinguish "natural" foods. It has been observed that at least the female can not only coo but emit a high pitched laughing sound. [Muns Baare July 2010]

Ringneck Doves have been domesticated for 2000 to 3000 years.They are easily kept, and long-lived, in captivity, living for up to 12 years, and are noted for their gentle nature. In recent years they have been used extensively in biological research, particularly into the hormonal bases of , because their sequences of courtship, mating and parental behaviour have been accurately described and are highly consistent in form. Dove fanciers have bred them in a great variety of colours; the number of colours available has increased dramatically in the latter half of the twentieth century, and it is thought that this has been achieved by interbreeding with S. roseogrisea. Some of these doves carry a mutation that makes them completely white.

Smart Pets

Mandarin Duck (Animal of China)

In the wild, Mandarin Ducks breed in densely wooded areas near shallow lakes, marshes or ponds. They nest in cavities in trees close to water and during the spring, the females lay their eggs in the tree's cavity after mating. The males take no part in the incubation, simply leaving the female to secure the eggs on her own. However, unlike other species of ducks, the male does not completely abandon the female, leaving only temporarily until the ducklings have hatched. Shortly after the ducklings hatch, their mother flies to the ground and coaxes the ducklings to leap from the nest. After all of the ducklings are out of the tree, they will follow their mother to a nearby body of water where they would usually encounter the father, who will rejoin the family and protect the ducklings with the mother. If the father isn't found then it is likely that he may have deceased during his temporary leave. The Asian populations are migratory, overwintering in lowland eastern China and southern Japan.


Drake

The adult male is a striking and unmistakable bird. It has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The breast is purple with two vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, with two orange "sails" at the back. The female is similar to female Wood Duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill. The Mandarin ducklings are almost identical in look to Wood ducklings, and appear very similar to Mallard ducklings. The ducklings can be distinguished from Mallard ducklings because the eye-stripe of Mandarin ducklings (and Wood ducklings) stops at the eye, while in Mallard ducklings it reaches all the way to the bill.
There are various mutations of the Mandarin Duck found in captivity. The most common is the white Mandarin Duck. Although the origin of this mutation is unknown, it is presumed that the constant pairing of related birds and selective breeding led to recessive gene combinations leading to genetic conditions including.

Beautiful Animals

Domestic Rabbit(Animal of Europe)

Rabbits can live outside in properly constructed housing or hutches. Hutches provide protection from the elements in winter and keep rabbits cool in summer heat. To protect from predators rabbit hutches are usually situated in a fenced yard, or other enclosed structure. Whether housed indoors or out, all rabbits can be provided shelves, ramps or tunnels, toys or other enrichment items. Rabbit waste can be measured in cubic yards per year. This waste is excellent for gardening and composting, and can be collected for these uses whether the rabbit is housed indoors or outdoors. An outdoor cage should be as large as possible, at least high enough for the rabbit to stand on its back legs without its head touching the ceiling. It should be large enough to enable the rabbit to take 4 or 5 hops along its length and width. The shelter may be heated in winter (although most rabbits can be kept outside with extra bedding even into temperatures well below freezing) and should be shaded or otherwise appropriately cooled in summer. Clean water must be available at all times, especially in hot weather to keep temperatures below 85 degrees. Large rabbits (such as the New Zealand breed) do fine in temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius/15 degrees Fahrenheit in a hutch with plenty of straw, if their needs for food and water are well met. Water cups or bottles that become frozen in cold weather must be changed two or three times daily. Below -10 degrees Celsius/15 degrees Fahrenheit it is necessary to shelter all animals in a barn or basement or garage. Covering cages three quarters of the way with a blanket, several cages grouped together, can generate a great deal of heat. One rule of thumb is at least eight pounds of animal per cage. Even newborn rabbits do well in cold if they have sufficient nest and many siblings to snuggle with. They should stay with the mother for longer periods of time in the winter for warmth. Domesticated rabbits are most comfortable in temperatures between 10 to 21 degrees C (50 to 70 degrees F), and cannot endure temperatures above 32 degrees C (90 degrees F) well without assistance such as deep shade, cold stones, frozen water bottles or fans.

Parrots, Parakeets and Love birds (Animal of Multiple places)

Learning in early life is apparently important to all parrots, and much of that learning is social learning. Social interactions are often practised with siblings, and in several species creches are formed with several broods, and these as well are important for learning social skills. Foraging behaviour is generally learnt from parents, and can be a very protracted affair. Supra-generalists and specialists are generally independent of their parents much quicker than partly specialised species which may have to learn skills over a long period of time as various resources become seasonally available. Play forms a large part of learning in parrots; it can be solitary, and related to motor skills, or social. Species may engage in play fights or wild flights to practice predator evasion. An absence of stimuli can retard the development of young birds, as demonstrated by a group of kept in tiny cages with domesticated chickens from the age of 3 months; at 9 months these birds still behaved in the same way as 3 month olds, but had adopted some chicken behaviour. In a similar fashion captive birds in zoo collections or pets can, if deprived of stimuli, develop and harmful behaviours like self plucking. Aviculturists working with parrots have identified the need for  to keep parrots stimulated.