SOFTBILLS
WITH several weeks of freezing temperatures around the UK, the conditions have taken their toll on our birds. A late nest of snowy-crowned robin-chat (Cossypha niveicapilla) eggs disappeared for my friend in Derbyshire. They sat tight for a few days, but the constant cold proved too much. Even though his large aviary is well covered with polycarbonate sheets and heavy planting, these were not enough.
It is strange that these birds even attempted to nest with the short daylight and long cold nights. He uses heated) and his long-tailed glossy starlings () and lilac-breasted rollers (). His cock Hoopoe () also spends time on this heated perch. This raises the question: how many other keepers use heated perches? I have never used them myself.
