Caiques are tough little birds that originate from rainforests of South America. In the wild, you can find these 10-inch tall birds that gather at the top of the tree canopies.
The caique is an extremely intelligent bird and is compared to the scarlet macaw in terms of intelligence.
Types Of Caiques
There are two main types of caiques:
- White-bellied Caiques
- Black-headed Caiques.
The beauty of these little birds is that they don’t differ much in terms of personality. Both species and subspecies possess the joy and acrobatic skills of each.
They are curious explorers who are always on the lookout for the next investigation. They are smart little birds that are considered the fun types of the Pionus family.
They thrive best when they are with their species, especially in captivity, but they could potentially make friends with other birds of the same size that tolerate them, as they are from other types of birdss.
1. White-Bellied Caique
Pointed Leucogaster, more commonly known as the white-bellied caique, native to the southern Amazon regions. They are found in northern Brazil to Bolivia.
These small birds, which also congregate in Peru and Ecuador, sport an orange head, their lores, throats, and sides of the head the color yellow. Its wings and back sport a beautiful green color with a creamy white chest that extends to its belly.
The white-bellied caique has a horn-colored beak with reddish eyes. When the white-bellied caique is in its juvenile stages, the head looks brown with a tuft of black feathers. Its beak has gray markings at its base and its eyes are brown.
The white-bellied caique has two subspecies, one of which has just been mentioned. The other subspecies of a white-bellied caique can be identified by its thighs and green flanks. While its close cousin, the yellow-thighed caique has similarly colored thighs and flanks but has yellowtail, while the white-bellied caique has a green tail.
2. Black-Headed Caique
The Pionites melanocephala or the black-headed caique looks more like a brownish head that later turns into black, earning its name.
During the juvenile stages, the black-bellied caique sports a belly that looks more yellowish into more creamy white. All of the orange and yellow areas of the juvenile black-headed caique look paler and only acquire color as they mature.
Even the band on the back of the neck is paler compared to a much older bird of the same type. This type of caique is generally yellow in color, with feathers on the cheeks, throat, thighs, and sides.
You can find an orange band on the back neck of the species that is bordered by some feathers that are a touch of blue. The hind wings, rump, and upper tail of the black-bellied caique are all green.
As with its close cousin, the White-bellied Caique, the Black-bellied Caique has a cream-white belly similar to its relatives. Most of the black tail of the caique belly is yellow. It has a grayish-black bill with orange-red eyes.
Lifespan
Caiques are sturdy little birds who live long and live well if given proper care and provided with the proper living conditions while raising. Caiques in the wild have to deal with large bird predators and, of course, larger opportunistic mammals that are fast enough to catch one of these small feathered hoppers.
In the wild, research has shown that caiques have the ability to live long lives of 20 years and more.
Being part of a flock in the wild provides some kind of safety and security for caiques because there are always one or two caiques that act as watchers for the other caiques in
the herd, which is in the canopy when it is time to eat.
The beauty of the caiques is that they like to congregate in small groups of about 8-10 birds, essentially part of a gang that gives them security in numbers.
In captivity, there have been caiques that have been reported to live for over 20 years.
Providing adequate living facilities, giving caique birds the essential nutrition they require, and an extensive socialization time ensures the long life of their caiques
With proper cage maintenance, including enclosure maintenance and cleaning, changing the birdbath and water bowl, replacing the base cage sheets, are some of the ways you can ensure a lifestyle clean for your messy friend.
Not having social graces on the table, the caiques are much like their feathered cousins when it comes to eating, drinking, and playing: They can do a good job of dirtying the things inside their cages.
Housing Your Pet Caique
The colorful and barely vocal Caique is indeed a small bird compared to other medium-sized birdss. However, they will use every square inch of the cage you provide them. Again, the size of your active bird, which will be no more than 10 inches from head to claw, and how many you decide to commit to, will determine the space you’ll need for the proper enclosure you’ll need.
Housing Requirements For Caiques
For an individual or a couple who lives in a small apartment and is looking for a caique, you
Glad to hear that a 24x24x18 will be enough and ample space to provide your bird.
However, be sure to remember to keep windows and doors closed when you’ve trained your bird well enough and are allowed to fly and roam freely in a controlled space.
A truly great companion and capable of surviving and thriving alone, the caique is a bird that is quite independent and can have fun during times of the day when you are out of the house. However, make sure you not only provide the bird with toys to keep it busy but remember to set aside ample playtime with your caique.
In order for birds, such as the caique, to live to their full potential and enjoy life in the safety of captivity, you, as your new keeper, must provide it.
Make sure you have enough space in your home to comfortably house a caique bird. The birds of Caique are quite calm birds, except for the occasional tweeting and tweeting, since they are not great conversationalists, so they will be perfect pets for those who live near their neighbors.
Toys And Other Equipment
The size of the cage you should get will depend on the number of birds you intend to raise. The more birds, the bigger the cage was to house them all.
Of course, you will have to add more cages later if you intend to breed the caique birds under your wing. You will also need a smaller spare cage for quarantine purposes – it will be used for any new birds you bring in the calf.
New birds entering your care must be quarantined and removed from the general population to prevent any transfer of disease. Nests will also be needed for the caiques to be paired for mating and breeding.
They are active and playful birds, so they will need all the toys they can put their little feet on.
Choose toys that allow them the right type of exercise while they are in their rooms. They will need perches and swings, and twigs and things that will not only move them but also others that will involve their inquisitive minds.
They will need the correct amount of airspace in their enclosure where they can fly and fly.
They’re not great fliers, in the wild or not, but they’re pretty slick, so make sure they have a lot of space to show off their skills. In addition to the items mentioned above, you will also want to furnish the cage with chains and bells; they like shiny objects that they can push and play with.
Hang some climbing ropes on the opposite side of the swing with which you fit the cage and marvel at the skill of your caique
Add a small wooden birdcage inside your enclosure where birds can retreat when they want peace and quiet.
Cages
The size of a standard cage that will comfortably fit a caique is a cage with dimensions 40 “-50” high with a floor space of approximately 24 “x 40”.
But of course, if you can afford the space in your home, a larger cage would be much better. Ideally, you want to buy a stainless steel cage, which would last longer, with 24 “x 24” x 32 “specs with a bar space less than an inch wide, preferably 3/4 inch apart.
The best rule of thumb is to invest in a sturdy enclosure that provides a lot of room to move around and ample space for all the sundries, furnishings, food and beverage dishes, birdbath, and toys your caique birds will need.
These cages should be spacious enough and not make the bird feel restricted on the move. As long as the room stays warm enough for the birds, they’ll be fine.
Caique birds do not need specialized temperatures; however, one of the most important accessories they will need would be adequate lighting in their room.
Aviary
If you are lucky enough to live in a region where the climate is mild and conducive to caique birds, and if you have a lot of outdoor space, then you may want to consider building an aviary for your caique birds.
Feeding
As with any other pet, be it terrestrial or avian, pets need to eat the right food. Therefore, knowing what to feed them is important information that all potential pet owners should know.
This also applies to your avian pet. Each bird species has specific foods that they eat that are available in their original habitat and are accessed by the grace of nature.
By now, you know that in captivity, you as your new keeper will have to take responsibility for finding your livelihood and feeding your birds.
All birds have different tastes in food and have varying nutritional needs. The nutritional value of one bird does not apply to another.
While some birdss like seeds and others prefer nectar, caiques in the wild would not pass up a colorful bright flower.
What To Feed Your Caiques
Be sure to provide the type of food that your bird require to stay healthy and strong. Caiques love sweet-tasting foods, so be sure to provide your favorite fruits and vegetables so that they get the proper nutrition for their little legs, bodies, and minds to work at their best.
The formulated pellets made by bird pellet manufacturers contain the right amount of nutrients that birds would need, but you will want to give your birds a variety of food so they don’t get bored with the food being served, make sure you give them an adequate proportion of granules and fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Give them occasional treats like nuts and soft-bodied larvae.
You can offer them the infrequent of meat, which would provide them with much-needed amino acids.
Set up their food bowls for them during the day with enough food for them to pick up and feed throughout the day while you are away, and remember to remove unfinished food at night.
You can scatter a tablespoon full of sunflower seeds that birds can eat at night. Commercially formulated pellet diets are created to meet the complete nutritional needs of a caique. However, you want to give your birds a variety of fresh foods that will keep them eager for food.
Seed diet
Keep seed diets at a low 20% of their total daily intake. Too many seeds can be bad for birds and can be consumed in dealing with seeds that lose interest in the fresh food bowls you put in them.
Give seeds as treats to meet this bird’s dietary needs. Never feed birds on a birdseed diet alone, as these birds have a wide variety of food available that are available to them in the wild and also accessible to them.