Red-billed Leiothrix

Red-billed Leiothrix

　　　　Resident in the Yangtze River basin and the vast regions south of the river.

　　The Red-billed Leiothrix is about 14 cm in length. It has a bright red beak; its upper body is olive green, with a light yellow face; its wings feature distinct reddish-yellow wing patches, while its chin, throat, and chest are a brilliant yellow or orange, and its belly is pale yellow.

　　It lives in plains and mountainous areas up to 2,000 meters in elevation, often residing in the shrubs or bamboo forests of evergreen broad-leaved forests and mixed evergreen and deciduous forests, rarely venturing to forest edges. They not only forage in the lower understory but also frequently move to the middle or canopy layers, occasionally searching for food on the ground. They are sociable, often forming groups or mingling with other bird species, with males and females staying close together. They are lively and agile in movement and are not very shy of humans.

　　Their diet mainly consists of various insects and larvae, as well as plant fruits and seeds, making them omnivorous birds. Breeding begins in late April and continues through June. Nests are built in coniferous forests, evergreen forests, mixed forests, and other types of wooded areas, usually on thorny or low trees. The nest is deeply cup-shaped, constructed from leaf stems, bamboo leaves, grass, or other soft materials mixed with a small amount of moss, and lined with fine roots or slender grass. The nest is often suspended on vertical or horizontal branches of shrubs or low bamboo, 0.5–1 meter above the ground. Each nest contains 3–5 eggs, which are greenish-white to light bluish-green and speckled with dark spots.

　　The Red-billed Leiothrix enjoys a much higher reputation abroad than domestically. The inseparable behavior of the male and female on the perch in cages greatly interests people, and they are seen as a symbol of faithful love, often given as wedding gifts.

　　1. Bird Selection: The Red-billed Leiothrix is beloved for its gorgeous plumage, lively movements, graceful posture, and pleasant song. However, compared to other songbirds in the Timaliidae family, its song is considered monotonous and it is not good at mimicry, so bird keepers tend to value its colorful feathers more.

　　Males and females can be distinguished by their calls, eye-ring color, crown color, and the extent of red on the chest. Male birds have multi-syllabic calls; females have single-syllabic calls. Males have yellow eye-rings; females have grayish-white eye-rings. The male’s crown is more yellowish compared to its back, while the female’s crown is the same color as its back. The male has a larger and more intense red area on the chest, whereas the female’s red area is smaller and lighter. When viewed from underneath, the black part within the forked tail feathers of the male extends over 8 cm, while that of the female is only about 4 cm. These characteristics should be assessed comprehensively. Choose males with loud calls, large size, and bright plumage. The redness of the beak is said to be related to age—the older the bird, the fully red the beak, while juveniles have black at the base of the beak.

　　2. Cage Features: There are no strict standards. Some use songbird cages, while others use bright-bottomed bullfinch cages. You can make your own bamboo cage, sized between a songbird cage and a songbird perch cage, with 1.8 cm bar spacing, a bright bottom, a droppings tray underneath, and one perch. Since the birds eat a lot and enjoy bathing, splashing water at the sight of it, food and water containers should be deep and large—you can use smaller-mouthed songbird containers.

　　3. Feed and Feeding Methods: In the north, Red-billed Leiothrix are mostly fed a staple diet of chicken egg millet or egg yolk mixed with cornmeal (3:7), which often leads to digestive issues and severe feather discoloration. In the south, peanut powder is essential for keeping Red-billed Leiothrix. A typical mix is: 0.5 kg of cornmeal mixed with 4 raw eggs, stirred evenly, dried, then combined with 200 g of peanut powder. They should also regularly be given fruit, berries, insects and their larvae (or fresh minced beef or mutton).

　　4. Management and Training: Newly captured Red-billed Leiothrix are easily startled and prone to crashing into things. To avoid beak injuries or feather damage, they should initially be “wing-tied” before being placed in a board cage or a cage covered with a cage cover. Like songbirds, use “soft food” to entice them to eat, and provide fruit. Once the birds start eating regularly, gradually switch to powdered feed and provide water. Approach them slowly—start by opening part of the cage cover (the curtain), and hand-feed them items like flour worms or corn borer larvae. Once they are comfortable enough to approach your hand for food, you can fully open the cage cover and untie the “wing-tie.”

　　Red-billed Leiothrix have short intestines and fast digestion, resulting in frequent, soft, and watery droppings. Therefore, the cage bottom must be cleaned every 2–3 days, and the birds should be given a bath. Normally, to prevent them from bathing on their own, use water containers with small openings; otherwise, they may contaminate their food and water. Additionally, if they splash all the water out, they may become dehydrated. Regularly check the cage bars for damage, and be especially careful when transferring the birds between cages or handling them directly, as Red-billed Leiothrix are agile and adept at finding ways to escape.

　　Red-billed Leiothrix generally do not learn to mimic other birds’ songs and will only sing their own calls. They can be kept in pairs, with the male and female snuggling and preening each other in an affectionate and entertaining manner. In Southeast Asian countries, they are given as wedding gifts.

　　The Grey-hooded Parrotbill, Silver-eared Mesia, and others can also be raised using the methods described above.