Mary Allen
Parrots aren’t the only animals that can mimic human voices. Corvids and even some blackbirds are also able to articulate words and sounds. A feathered imitation artist is one – bright orange – beak length ahead of the non-parrots: the Beo is a talent for speech, a cheeky badger with wings, and a remarkable animal in general. That makes it a popular pet bird not only in Asia. By the way: A Beo that is very well known in this country is Blacky, the bird mascot from the detective agency of the “Three Question Marks”.
Beo or Myna? Ornamental Birds From Southeast Asia
When researching Beos, you will inevitably come across the alternative name Myna, which is not used entirely correctly in German. Mynas are birds from the starling family. The Beos also belong to this family, but it also includes other representatives. This means that while every Beo is a Myna, not every Myna is a Beo. In scientific nomenclature, the Beo-Mynas referred to here are known as the genus Gracula. These beos are common in southern India, Sri Lanka, and some islands in the Malay archipelago. There the animals live either in pairs or in small groups. They are forest dwellers and mainly stay in the treetops.
There are three subspecies, the Large Beo, the Middle Beo, and the Small Beo, which differ in size. Pet birds are mostly Mittelbeos. Unfortunately, the increased demand for Beos from abroad has put the stocks at risk of being caught in the wild. If you buy Beos in Germany, please note that the birds are protected under the Washington Convention on Endangered Species and must be registered. The seller has to prove to you that it is offspring. You report the possession of the animals, depending on the responsibilities in your municipality, to the veterinary office or the lower nature conservation authority.
Black Iridescent Beauties: the Color and Appearance of the Beos
Beos stand out for their black body plumage, which contrasts with the strong orange-yellow legs and beak. The plumage shimmers greenish depending on the incidence of light. The yellow skin flaps on the side of the head are also characteristic. There are no other colors on the Beo. The pointed beak is also a weapon that should be taken seriously as a human being: an angry Beo can use it to chop hard.
Talkative, Loud, and Not House-trained: the Demanding Beo Posture
Beos are popular pet birds, largely thanks to their language skills. There are anatomical reasons for this: the vocal head in birds – anatomically Syrinx – is anyway designed to cope with an extensive sound repertoire. This organ is particularly pronounced in Beos. In addition, birds have the ability to learn sounds using a song control system in the brain; Here, too, the Beo is particularly talented. The Beos vocal organ is also characteristic in other respects: the animals are very loud and could disturb noise-sensitive neighbors in the apartment building. Clarify the tolerance of the roommates before you buy two Beos – keeping the sensitive birds individually is not appropriate to animal welfare.
Socialization with other bird species is not recommended. Beos desperately need a spacious aviary and much supervised free flight; Cages should only be used as night quarters or for short-term security. The minimum size (length x width x height) for a Beo aviary is 200 x 100 x 180 centimeters. Accommodation (overnight) should measure at least 120 x 50 x 50 centimeters. Beo accommodations are offered with three Plexiglas panels attached to the side. This is necessary: Beos are not house-trained, the consistency and settling of the droppings are different from that of a grain eater. While parakeets simply drop their blobs, Beos splash their droppings away behind them.
They tend to muddy in the food bowl and throw some things to the ground in the process. Beos also need a large bathhouse because they are real water rats – and they are not squeamish about their surroundings. So you have to calculate a much higher cleaning effort when keeping Beo than with beech wood granulate from other birds. The particularly absorbent normal bird sand is superior to the litter for the aviary. You should regularly replace perches made of natural wood completely in order to prevent mites and a fungal infestation – unlike parrots, the natural wood perches are not gnawed by the animals, but they need them to train their foot muscles and to avoid ball ulcers.
Beo (Common hill myna)
Origin
Parts of Southeast Asia (Indian Peninsula, Sunda Islands, Sri Lanka);
Size
26 – 35 centimeters (depending on the subspecies);
Weight
About 250 grams;
Appearance
Long, strong beak in orange-yellow, legs of the same color, yellow skin flaps on the sides of the head;
Plumage
Black with greenish iridescence;
Life expectancy
Around 15 – 20 years;
Temperament
Lively, loud, curious, defensive, fearless.
The Special Diet of the Beos
Like all starlings, Beos are soft-eaters. Their natural diet consists primarily of fruits and insects; in nature, therefore, they usually do not consume any seeds or grain. The pet retailer has adapted to Beos’ special nutritional needs. Under the name “Beo-Perlen” you get a feed granulate that consists of grain, fruits, and egg yolks and serve as basic feed. Beo pearls have notable advantages: The fiber makes the bird droppings firmer and thus ensures a little more hygiene in the bird household. In addition, an even supply of nutrients is guaranteed, as the Beo bird cannot sort the pearls in a nasty way according to delicacies and thereby make parts of the feed unusable.
In addition, the Beo feed should have a very low iron content – an oversupply of the nutrient can cause health problems in the Beo, the so-called “iron storage disease”. As fresh food, you offer chickweed, fresh fruit, and soaked raisins. You cover the animal protein requirement with insects from the food store: mealworms, house crickets, grasshoppers, and crickets.
Can You Tame Beos?
In contrast to parrots, the Beo does not necessarily begin to speak because it wants to “make contact” with humans. In the wild, too, the birds imitate the sounds and voices of other animals. Joyful speaking is therefore not necessarily a criterion for trustworthiness. Even if your Beo is a babbling linguist, there is no guarantee that it can be tamed. With a lot of patience and calm, however, it can definitely succeed in winning the bird’s sympathy. There are many examples of extremely affectionate animals, but they can become jealous of other members of the household.
Some Beos appear to be deliberately trying to play tricks on their owners and other pets. They are not suitable as pets for children and are only recommended to bird lovers who can cope with the comparatively high amount of dirt and the enormous volume. For these reasons, housing from Beos is only practicable under special framework conditions. An outdoor aviary on a plot of land that is as free as possible is ideal.