The Olive Backed Sun Bird

                                                                                                                                                            By Paradise Aviaries Australia

 

The Olive Backed Sun Bird is without a doubt an absolute pleasure to keep and I spend many hours just sitting and watching this beautiful little bird’s antics in our aviaries. We have 5 pairs all in identical aviaries both in size & the type of plants used. The dimensions for these aviaries 12m x 8m x 8m, the roof is fully tined with some plastic sheeting used on the sides. The Sunbirds are not housed alone, they share there aviaries with a number of different Softbill species & Finches, including Pink Robins, Peking Robins, Orange & Crimson Chats, Striated Grass Wrens, Thick-Billed Grass Wrens, Southern Emu Wrens, Mallee Emu Wrens and more.. Finch species include Green Strawberry finches, Peters Twin Spots, Lavender Eared Waxbill, Paradise whydah, Red Eared Firetail, Beautiful Firetail, and more... We have kept Sunbirds for a number of years and in that time we have had great success in breeding them with each year producing 6 young per pair, the nest is constructed the same as in the wild using Bark, Cobweb, Grasses ect... and as in the wild they will hang the nest just about any ware including light fittings as one pair did. They nest from September through to April, but we have had them nest in July and August depending on the weather conditions (rainfall) they lay 2 eggs which are a grayish white to green and only the female sits. The young grow rapidly and will fledge long before you expect them to, the young can fly from the moment they fledge but will not stray far from the nest. The young do not use the nest once fledge but seem to use it as a security blanket and will stay close for a number of days before venturing further away, with very protective parents close by. Our original nectar food was changed some time ago thanks to a great article in the SGWA Magazine from Mr. Drew Smith his simple mix has proven to be one of the best nectar supplements we have ever used and all our Honey eaters thrive on it. We also use a double fluorescent light in every aviary, with one Black light tube and the other soft white, the white tube serves as a duel purpose not only helping to attract insects but as a night light. The black light tube is strongly recommended as it was to me by the President of SGWA, Mr. Robinson as it attracts a VERY large volume of insects, particularly Moths which is needed for breeding success of sunbirds or in fact any Softbill. We use these lights in all 26 aviaries and we have no doubt about the benefits, particularly in the breeding season, even our Regent Bower Birds who are fruit eaters enjoy their morning ritual of catching grass hoppers attracted by the light. You can not mix Sunbirds with other nectar feeders nor can you leave the young in the aviary for to long as they are very territorial, about 3 – 4 weeks after fledging we will remove the young from the aviary and this will trigger the hen to nest again. We would highly recommend the olive Backed Sun Bird as it is one of the easier nectar feeders to keep and great to watch.