Taking care of a black-naped oriole - tips appreciated! (4 Viewers)

[jeannette]

Recently my family picked up an injured black-naped oriole and as it cannot fly, the vet persuaded us to keep it as a pet. (Edited to add: the bird will never be able to fly because a large part of its right wing is missing)

It is about 10 weeks old now (9 Oct).

I've tried searching online resources and my local libraries for information relating to black-naped orioles but I couldn't find any.

I'll very much appreciate advice!

Some of my questions are:

1. What is its lifespan?
2. What does it like to eat apart from worms?
3. Should I get it toys? What kind of toys does it like to play with?
4. How is its personality like - aggressive, friendly, loyal....?
5. Is it a noisy bird?
6. Any other info is very much welcomed.

And here is a picture of the dear bird when it first came:

Here is a picture of the Oriole now. It's settling in very well and very happily into its new home!

 

[James Eaton]

Hi Jeanette,

This is a forum for sharing information about wild birds. It is great that you attempted to rescue this bird, hopefully once it is fully grown you would be able to release it back into the wild where it belongs so it is there for the enjoyment of everyone.

Black-naped Oriole is unfortunately a common cagebird throughout Southeast Asia, as it is very colourful and mimicks many sounds it is also easy to feed. In the wild they feed on fruit, berries and small insects. Due to capture for the pet trade it is endangered and locally extinct in some areas, especially Indonesia and China. Hopefully when you are able to release the bird it will be forever grateful to you!

Regards,

James

 

[deborah4]

Black-naped Oriole is unfortunately a common cagebird throughout Southeast Asia, as it is very colourful and mimicks many sounds it is also easy to feed. In the wild they feed on fruit, berries and small insects. Due to capture for the pet trade it is endangered and locally extinct in some areas, especially Indonesia and China. Hopefully when you are able to release the bird it will be forever grateful to you!

Regards,

James

Hi James

Just a couple of obs based on your comments and I'm wondering whether in fact this was originally a caged/captive bird that had escaped and was picked up?

1. Was it picked up with ease in the possibility it's an escapee (or deliberately released to avoid vet bills?)
2. The apparent wear & tear above beak - could this be consistent with prolonged friction through the wire bars of cage or metal feeder - ie. stress injury?
3. It appears to have an old injury on one of its feet and seems to have a history of a high level of 'damage' for a wild bird - is this normal?
4. How old are Orioles before they fledge? Jeanette doesn't mention the vet suggesting it would fly once fledged and it does seem surprising a vet would recommend keeping an unfledged bird as a pet. Could an unfledged bird caught/raised in captivity have apparent 'difficulty' in flying in the wild once fledged? Are primaries cut/pulled or clipped to prevent captive birds from flying in the event of 'escape' in your experience of captive orioles?

I don't know answer to any of these Q's btw - but if it is an escapee, I just wondered whether releasing it might be it's downfall in this particular instance.

HOWEVER: if none of above applies and it's lack of flight is due to being unfledged or a recoverable wing injury, I totally agree: ABSOLUTE NO NO to keep as pet: Off to Rehab and then released please!

 

[James Eaton]

Hi Deborah,

Judging by the photograph I would guess the bird is between 10-15 days old and would still be unable to fly. Black-naped Oriole's breed freely in Singapore, even along the tree-lined main highstreet (pers obs). This trait is only shared with Malaysia as both countries suffer relatively little in terms of bird trapping within Woutheast Asia so I would guess that the bird could be well a wild bird.

I would say the vet realised the species which is why he recommended keeping the bird with it being such a popular pet, a fine vocalist on it's day, but can produce some awful noises too!

Trapped birds aren't clipped as it detracts from their beauty from what I have learn't. Also judging by the number of escapes I have come across (especially in Singapore!). One of the sadest sights in my lifetime was actually coming across a freshly caught, highly distressed Black-naped Oriole in a cage in Northern Vietnam, poor thing had been caught just 5 minutes beforehand to be sold in town.

Jeannette, I think you would get huge satisfaction watching the bird fly off into the wild after you have personally reared the bird to the stage of flying. For any futher help contact Nature's Niche Bookstore in the Botanical Gardens, a Swedish birder, Morten Strange, owns the shop and he would be more than willing to offer help and his expertise in how best to cope with the bird.

Hi James

Just a couple of obs based on your comments and I'm wondering whether in fact this was originally a caged/captive bird that had escaped and was picked up?

1. Was it picked up with ease in the possibility it's an escapee (or deliberately released to avoid vet bills?)
2. The apparent wear & tear above beak - could this be consistent with prolonged friction through the wire bars of cage or metal feeder - ie. stress injury?
3. It appears to have an old injury on one of its feet and seems to have a history of a high level of 'damage' for a wild bird - is this normal?
4. How old are Orioles before they fledge? Jeanette doesn't mention the vet suggesting it would fly once fledged and it does seem surprising a vet would recommend keeping an unfledged bird as a pet. Could an unfledged bird caught/raised in captivity have apparent 'difficulty' in flying in the wild once fledged? Are primaries cut/pulled or clipped to prevent captive birds from flying in the event of 'escape' in your experience of captive orioles?

I don't know answer to any of these Q's btw - but if it is an escapee, I just wondered whether releasing it might be it's downfall in this particular instance.

HOWEVER: if none of above applies and it's lack of flight is due to being unfledged or a recoverable wing injury, I totally agree: ABSOLUTE NO NO to keep as pet: Off to Rehab and then released please!

 

[jeannette]

It'll never be able to fly.

A large part of its right wing is gone because of the injury.

 

[James Eaton]

It'll never be able to fly.

A large part of its right wing is gone because of the injury.

:-C Oh, that is sad news! Lucky the poor fella has you to take care of it, they are beautiful birds once they are fully-grown

 

[jeannette]

Hi James, that's wonderful! Very few people keep black-naped orioles as pets here in Singapore - I visited a few bird shops and no one sold black-naped orioles. That's a good thing because as you've mentioned, it's very wild indeed!

I felt bad that it can no longer be in the wild, but the vet comforted me by saying that it can be just as happy in an environment with humans, which is great.

Thank you so much for the Nature's Niche Bookstore contact - I must drop by and speak to the owner some time.

deborah4, you're very perceptive in spotting its foot injury. When my family discovered it near a walkway in the park behind my house it had a very swollen foot and half a wing gone.

I don't think it has been kept before. I suspect its injuries were caused when it fell out from his nest. I tried to find the nest but to no avail.

 

[jeannette]

Bump with a plea for help!

 

[colonelboris]

Hmm. I guess you're looking at this in the long term. As the bird's got older, how's the wing looking now?
If it looks like a definitely-will-never-fly job, then making an enclosure for it could be interesting. A full-size aviary wouldn't be too much use if it can't get off the ground, but it'd still need room to walk about. Maybe think of it in terms of a large rodent-type set-up, with ladders and platforms, but outdoors if possible. On that note, has the foot cleared up ok?
I guess at that point, you're looking at buying books on keeping cage birds as it'd be unfair in a way to release if it can't fly as it'd get picked off fairly quick by cats or rats, etc.
Giving it things like dead sticks, a bit of sandpaper wrapped around a bit of dowel or a cuttlefish bone would help keep the beak in good condition. Regul;ar cleaning of the enclosure, making sure there's enough perches and some cover, possibly a plywood box for it to roost in.
Other than that, I guess I can't help much.

Tony

 

[jeannette]

Just to bump up an old thread I started 6 years ago.

The black-naped oriole mentioned in my initial post passed away peacefully this morning. We suspect he died of old age.

He was 6 years and 3 months old, and was every bit the baby of the family.

This was how he looked as an adult bird:

Thanks again for your initial advice - your encouragement really helped.

 

[Xenospiza]

I think you did quite well keeping it for over six years!

I assume there are data on how old Black-naped Oriole can get, but it would be great if anyone could check this.

 

[jeannette]

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I couldn't get any info on what the lifespan of a black naped oriole is, even though I had spoken with a lot of people (including vets).

6 years sounds about right though, for someone of his size.

My heart feels broken with grief. Hopefully this sadness will come to pass.

 

[Lisa W]

Jeannette, it is sad to have a pet pass away. However, please take comfort in knowing that if you had not rescued him he would not have survived due to his injuries. He became a part of your family and lived a good life.

 

[chinkerina]

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I couldn't get any info on what the lifespan of a black naped oriole is, even though I had spoken with a lot of people (including vets).

6 years sounds about right though, for someone of his size.

My heart feels broken with grief. Hopefully this sadness will come to pass.

Hello,

Very sorry to hear about this news.

I've to google on Black Naped Oriole and i found this thread.

Got into the same situtaion as you. Found a small one this afternoon.

It has many ticks and i've no idea how to take care of it.

My intention is to take care till its big and fit enough to fly off.

Can you email me @[email protected]

Thank you!

 

[arjacee]

Good for you Jeannette. I'm sure it had a great six years living with your family.

 

[jeannette]

Hi chinkerina, sorry I just saw your message and have emailed you.

 

[315Edith]

What type of food did you provide when the oriole was still unfledged? A baby black naped oriole also came to us last week. we decided to take care of it until it will be able to fly. It has hard time digesting the food we provide like ripe mango (thin slices) and other fruits, sometimes bread. It is also breathing heavily while asleep or is it just normal?

 

[jeannette]

What type of food did you provide when the oriole was still unfledged? A baby black naped oriole also came to us last week. we decided to take care of it until it will be able to fly. It has hard time digesting the food we provide like ripe mango (thin slices) and other fruits, sometimes bread. It is also breathing heavily while asleep or is it just normal?

Hi Edith, hope everything is OK.

Sorry for the late reply as I don't frequent the forum much, and only check in once in a while.

I fed my baby oriole - which was only a few days old then - soft fruit (hence their nickname, soft bills!).

He enjoyed papaya, bananas and mangoes, some vegetable, and also bread. Jiao Jiao was a joy to have and I still miss him.

He would roll up into a ball when he slept. I don't recall him to breathe very heavily while he slept.

 

[waltz]

I recently oso just rescued two baby oriole

one got cyst on its wing n can’t fly high the other one too young to fend for itself as there were predictor birds flying around

 

[bobbydoggo]

I recently oso just rescued two baby oriole

one got cyst on its wing n can’t fly high the other one too young to fend for itself as there were predictor birds flying around

Hello! I have 2 black naped oriole as well and i have been feeding them mealworms and papaya. Anybody knows what else I could feed them with? They are rescued from baby so they are not ready for wild yet.