Facts About the White Bellied
Caique
Caiques
(pronounced kye-eeks or Kye-ee-kayes) belong to the psittacine
genus Pionites. White-bellied caiques comprise three sub-species:
Pionites leucogaster, P. l. xanthomeria, and P. l. xanthurus.
Description: The white-bellied caique is
a small parrot, averaging 23 cm in length and 165 g in weight.
With a helmet of bright orange feathers, a brilliant yellow
chin and snowy white breast, white-bellies are certainly one
of the most colorful small parrots. There are color features
that distinguish the three white-bellied sub-species. All have
white underparts, but some differ in tail and thigh coloration.
P. l. xanthomeria has yellow thighs and a green tail. The back
and wing feathers are dark green, with wing coverts deep blue.
Range:
White-bellies are native to Brazil and parts of Peru and Bolivia.
They prefer lowland forests near watercourses. Very social,
white-bellied caiques travel in pairs or family groups, feeding
on rainforest fruits, nuts, vegetation and seeds. Like most
parrots, white bellied caiques like to nest in cavities high
in the canopy of rainforest trees. These parrots lay anywhere
from two to four small white eggs which the female incubates.
Incubation lasts around 26 days, during which the female rarely
leaves the nest. The male will forage and feed her while she
sits the eggs. The chicks hatch blind and helpless and both
parents feed and care for them. At about 14 weeks of age the
chicks are ready to leave the nest to begin foraging and feeding
on their own.
Habitat:
Like so many species of plants and animals in the region, the
white bellied caique is threatened with shrinking habitat, as
Brazil is losing rainforest at an alarming rate. The wholesale
destruction of habitat has contributed to the decline of countless
rainforest species, and if left to continue will surely lead
to the extinction of many.
Artificial Incubation: Nest boxes are checked
daily during the breeding season, which in Florida begins in
January and usually ends in June. Eggs are removed by 0900 hours
and are weighed, measured for length and width, labeled for
species, date and cage number and placed in an avian incubator.
The incubator is maintained at (99.9 F) with 50% humidity. Chicks
hatch on the 26th day of incubation. Upon hatching, chicks are
weighed, color-coded with a non-toxic marker and placed in individual
plastic cups lined with soft absorbent cotton. Hatchlings are
placed in an avian brooder set at (97 F) and saturation humidity.
Brooder temperatures are lowered with chick age, usually in
three to five degree increments. Once chicks are feathered,
brooder temperatures are set to ambient room temperature.
Hand-feeding:
Upon hatching, white-belly chicks are fed every 90 minutes around-the-clock
for the first five to seven days. The chicks are fed a commercial
parrot hand-feeding formula prepared fresh for each feeding.
Syringes are used to feed the formula, which is heated to (100-105
F). Growth patterns indicate that within the first five to seven
days, a weight gain of 15-20% over a single 24-hour period becomes
a benchmark for future development. Upon achieving this daily
growth rate, chicks "take off", and weight gains are usually
sustained at roughly 15% for the next few weeks. After the first
week, chicks are fed roughly every 2 1/2 hours, or whenever
the crop is completely empty. After the first four to five weeks
chicks should be fed four times per day. Weaning usually begins
by week ten, with chicks fully weaned by 14 weeks of age. Feedings
are gradually reduced at this time, and dietary additions such
as millet spray, banana, soaked monkey biscuits, whole wheat
breads, cooked rice, beans and pasta, as well as the full adult
diet of seeds and fruits are offered daily.
For
more information, we found this site which is The
Caique Manual a great resource.
