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Vol 27 Issue 4 • Aug-Sep 2014

Malabars

PELLET versus

SEED DIETS

NorthernRosellas

CRIMSONFINCH

Caiques

AVIARY DESIGNS

207

Vol 27 Issue 4 Aug-Sep 2014

Malabars

PELLET versus SEED DIETS

NorthernRosellas

CRIMSONFINCH

Caiques

AVIARY DESIGNS contents

Volume 27 Issue 4

226 IMPRINTING—HOW A CHICK LEARNS ITS IDENTITY

By Kit Prendergast

We probably all know of handreared pet birds which appear to think they are human. But did you realise there is a scientific basis for this?

238 MALABAR PARAKEETS

By Peter Odekerken

This charming, pastel-coloured and tight-plumaged Asiatic species is worthy of attention in order to maintain and increase the numbers in captivity.

COVER IMAGE BLACK-HEADED CAIQUE BY PETER ODEKERKEN

features209 CAIQUES IN AUSTRALIA

By Jade Welch

Highly sociable and entertaining, caiques keep the avid keeper enthralled. Find out more about the personable species kept in Australia.

222 THOUGHTS ON AVIARY DESIGN

By Adam FitzGerald

Adam has designed and built a functional yet attractive aviary complex on his suburban block.

regulars214 BREEDING AUSTRALIAN PARROTS: THE NORTHERN ROSELLA

By Barry Blanch

This nomadic rosella roams far and wide for sustenance, adapting to a variety of habitats and terrain. They are not as easy to care for as other rosellas and when it comes to breeding, compatibility between partners is paramount.

218 FINCH FOCUS: THE CRIMSON FINCH

By Russell Kingston

The two subspecies of Crimson Finch, the White-bellied and the Black-bellied forms, may present challenges to many breeders, however they are worth the effort that they demand.

230 HOOKBILL HOBBYIST: PERKY PYRRHURA CONURES

By EB Cravens

One of the most popular genera of small parrots, Pyrrhura members are relatively easy to breed, entertaining as pets, and most are available at reasonable prices.

232 AVIAN HEALTH WITH DR BOB: HEALTHY DIETS FOR HEALTHY BIRDS

By Dr Bob Doneley

How formulated diets meet the nutritional requirements of many birds and are better than a predominantly seed diet is explained, with advice on the conversion process.

235 FINCH FUNDAMENTALS: RODENTS

By Marcus Pollard

With shortening daylight hours and a chill in the air, keepers should focus on rodent control before it is too late.

242 CANARY CHATTER: CANARY COLOUR MUTATIONS

By Brian Bohl

Brian discusses the detailed scienceand beauty of colour mutations in the canary.

250 THE WISE OWL: FINCH HOTSPOTS—PAST AND PRESENT

By Milton Lewis

Milton considers different finch species and their favourite dwelling places in his conservation planning.

254 YOUNG BIRD KEEPER: IN SEARCH OF THE GREEN-WINGED MACAW

By Savannah Hawkeswood

256 CONSERVATION

• WPT: Vinaceous Amazon Release Program By Carolyn Pradun & Andre Saidenberg

• Loro Parque News By Dr Matthias Reinschmidt It is high season at Loro Parque Fundación and hundreds of happy parrots are filling the breeding station.

246 THE ITALIAN AFFAIR—PART 2

By Russell Kingston

Russell continues his journey through Italy to the prestigious World Bird Show in Bari.

248 BE FLEXIBLE ABOUT PERCHES

By Matthias Reinschmidt

Birds need perches of different diameter, f lexibility and mobility for physical and mental health.

252 FIVE FINCHES OF BOTSWANA

By Kevin Solomon

A tale of the adventures of birding eco tour of southern Africa.

258 MAILBAG:

• Fig and Pesquet’s Parrots—an Unexpected Link

• Canary Passion Re-ignited• Glimpses of Paradise and Hell• More Support for the Golden-

shouldered Fund • Thanks for a Great Magazine

259 WHAT’S NEW:

• The Perfectly Trained Parrot— Fun and Positive Methods for Taming, Socialising, Trick Training, Release and Solving Behaviour Problems By Rebecca K O’Connor

• A Guide to Australian Pythons in Captivity By Adam Elliott

260 LAST CHIRP:

• Australian National Budgerigar Championships —Victoria Wins Again in 2014 By Nola Bradford

• Book Launch at Reptecon 2014 By Kayden Walsh

• 30th Annual Orana Avicultural Show By Geoff Wheeler

263 classifi eds

INTRODUCTIONCaiques (pronounced ‘kyeek’, or ‘cake’) are delightful birds that hail from South America where they have substantial range. As soon as you take one look at this interesting and unique species they make you feel like grabbing a chair and sitting in front of the aviary to observe their character. It is their captivating nature—hours could pass and you would still be watching their antics—they are complete clowns that enthrall bird lovers and keepers worldwide!

The added bonus to these lovable clowns, measuring approximately 23cm in length, is that there are two species—the Black-headed and the White-bellied. Both look dapper in their tight-feathered attire and remind me of birds wearing little suits. They are excitable and are a bird whose body language says a lot about how they are feeling. Regardless of whether they are a pet or aviary subject, they are a delight.

Green-thighed White-bellied Caique P. l. leucogaster

Yellow-thighed White-bellied Caique P. l. xanthomeria

Black-headed Caique P. m. melanocephala

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JADE WELCH

Caiques in Australia

SPECIES AND SUBSPECIESThe Pionites genus consists of two species of caiques and their subspecies.

The Black-headed Caique P. m. melanocephala is the nominate race and the Pallid form is the P. m. pallidus subspecies.

The White-bellied P. l. leucogaster is the nominate race with the subspecies of P. l. xanthurus and P. l. xanthomeria.

Within Australian aviculture, the nominate race of Black-headed Caique is the most widely kept. The White-bellied P. l. leucogaster, often referred to as the green-thighed White-bellied Caique, is extremely rare, whilst the yellow-thighed P. l. xanthomeria is an uncommon form, but increasing in numbers.

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214

THE NORTHERN ROSELLAT

WORDS BY BARRY BLANCH PHOTOGRAPHS BY JULIE BLANCH

breeding australian parrots

Northern Rosellas can be very nomadic and their movements are dependent on weather. There are two seasons experienced throughout the year in Northern Australia that influence the movements and breeding of the Northern Rosella in the wild—the hot, wet season and the warm, dry season. In the summer wet season, from November–April, 1500mm of rain can fall in some areas across the ‘Top End’, providing large amounts of vegetation, especially grasses, to flourish. By late winter it is dry, with very little to no rain, and it is not uncommon for 80% of all tinder dry vegetation areas to be burnt, mostly unchecked. With no seeding grasses to feed on or understorey plant food resources available, the birds move long distances and have to adapt to varying terrain and different vegetation habitats.

INTRODUCTIONThe Northern Rosella Platycercus venustus is the smallest of the rosella group. This bird inhabits areas of Northern Australia, or the ‘Top End’, and was originally discovered by the early botanical explorer Robert Brown and commonly named after himself—the Brown’s Rosella. Many bird fanciers still refer to the Northern by this name, while some call this rosella the Smutty Rosella, due to the distinct black feathering colour.

Gregory (1910) recognised three subspecies of the Northern Rosella—P. venustus found in north-western Queensland and the Northern Territory coastal regions, P. v. hilli found mainly in Western Australia and north-western Northern Territory and P. v. melvillensis from Melville Island. Both P. v. hilli and P. v. melvillensis are now recognised as racial variations. There is a distinct difference in the feather colouration between the nominate species and variations.

Seasonal rains and yearly control burning fire regimes in the grassland habitat affect the Northern Rosellas feeding, breeding and nomadic movements. Northern Rosellas are a valued bird in aviculture and good compatible pairs are difficult to obtain.

WILD HABITAT AND RANGEAs the name suggests, Northern Rosellas are mainly found in small parties of sub-tropical areas. Their range extends across northern and north-western Australia from Derby and Wyndham in the Kimberley area in Western Australia, to Burketown and the Nicholson River in the Gulf Country of western Queensland. This rosella can be found inhabiting areas south to Katherine and the northwest Tiwi Islands, Bathurst and Melville Islands off Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Northern Rosella male

Northern Rosella male

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fi nch focus ON AUSTRALIAN FINCHESOO

There…now that the heading has your attention, I will tell you that the bird in question is known by contemporary aviculturists as the Crimson Finch. In earlier times, however, it was known as the Pheasant-tailed Finch. This name was very appropriate, especially when one sees them sitting on overhead electricity wires with the long tail clearly visible.

IN THE WILD

TaxonomyThe Crimson Finch hails from Australia and New Guinea. The two Australian subspecies are the nominate form Neochmia phaeton phaeton and N. p. evangelinae. The nominate form of the Crimson Finch is also known as the Black-bellied Crimson Finch or Blood Finch. The name ‘Blood Finch’ is sometimes attributed to its violent nature, however it is more likely the name originally given to describe the blood-red plumage of the bird.

The White-bellied Crimson Finch subspecies N. p. evangelinae only occurs in restricted areas of Cape York Peninsular and southern New Guinea. In the wild, they are always found close to waterways, particularly in regions of Pandanus trees where they build their nests tucked away amongst the broad leaves.

DESCRIPTIONCrimson Finches are sexually dimorphic with unmistakable differences in the genders. Males have a deep blood red plumage with grey on the crown and upperparts, and black on the belly and underparts. Females are grey on the underparts, predominantly grey on the crown and back, with a red face and tail. Both sexes have some white or off-white spotting along the flanks.

N. p. evangelinae has gender differences similar to the Black-bellied Crimson Finch, although the black belly and undertail of the nominate form are transposed with white on the belly and vent area. The female is of similar likeness to the nominate form, albeit marginally paler overall. The red of the N. p. evangelinae is more pinkish in hue than the deep blood red of the nominate form.

Wild Black-bellied Crimson Finches in northern Australia have adapted to human habitation. In the Kimberley region, it is common for them to be feeding in and around campgrounds and tourist areas. I recall one memorable event at Zebra Rock in Kununurra having wild Crimson Finches coming down to feed on breadcrumbs on our hands. In northern Queensland, Crimson Finches frequently make themselves at home around homesteads, and on some occasions, even building their nests on verandahs and under houses.

Crimson Finch male in the East Kimberly region

White-bellied Crimson Finch

ESTEXT, PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY RUSSELL KINGSTON OAM

Black-bellied Crimson Finch Neochmia phaeton phaeton

THE PHEASANT-TAILED FINCHESWhat do you know about Pheasant-tailed Finches?

White-bellied Crimson Finch N. p. evangelinae

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Like many budding aviculturists, I started into the bird hobby with one aviary. However, it soon became overcrowded, and another aviary was added to the back

garden, and so the pattern continued until my collection was quite large. The trouble is that when you continually build on like this your back garden becomes a clutter of various aviaries of differing shapes and sizes and can look quite unappealing.

Fifteen years of keeping and breeding various species produced a lot of thoughts and designs regarding the ideal make-up of my backyard aviary complex, and when I moved out of the family home, I had it built—specific to my needs. Alas, I only had it up for a few months before having to sell my property, pull it down and place it in storage while I rented for a few years.

I have always kept a mix of birds—from finches through to large parrots and cockatoos—so I wanted a complex which allowed me to keep a variety of different species, each with its own special requirements, rather than just a bank of flights all exactly the same. I needed to be able to appropriately house a few pairs of Neophema grass parrots, Golden-shouldered Parrots etc, a pair of larger parrots such as rosellas or King Parrots, as well as having a suitable aviary for finches, softbills and small doves.

THE GRAND DESIGNThe result is an aviary measuring 2.4m high at the front, sloping down to 2.1m at the rear. The 2.4–2.1m slope of the aviary from front to rear allows maximum sunlight to penetrate during winter when the sun is lower in the sky. (The aviary complex faces north.)

It has four small breeding flights, each measuring 0.6m wide x 3m long with a 1.2m-wide walkway at the rear. I find 0.6m is the perfect width for small breeding flights for single pairs of Neophema or Psephotus genera. If they were 0.9m wide, they still wouldn’t be large enough for two pairs in the one flight, so having them at the 0.6m enables me to get four flights into a 2.4m wide area.

Next to these flights is a large finch aviary—4.2m deep x 3.7m wide and on the end is the large parrot flight measuring 1.2m wide x 4.5m long. This is stage one.

We finally purchased our own home again in April last year, so the big aviary complex came out of storage. To the finch aviary section, a large extension was built off the front. This also enclosed the front of the large parrot flight (to give them privacy). The extension is an additional 2.4m so overall the finch/softbill aviary now measures 6.6m deep x 4.9m wide.

The aviary extension has been added—note the difference between the painted and non-painted wire panels

Stage one of aviary construction

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Thoughts on AVIARY DESIGN

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADAM FITZGERALD

230

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY EB CRAVENS

PERKY PYRRHURA CONURES

hookbill hobbyistW

P

Without a doubt, one of the most popular genera of small psittacines is the group of conure species belonging to the Pyrrhura genus. Not only are

these conures small and entertaining as pets, but their ‘bigger bird’ characteristics make them a perfect step-up for serious parrot owners wanting something a bit more advanced than the more common Cockatiel or lovebird.

Being relatively easy to breed in significant numbers Pyrrhuras are often available at reasonable prices. Many hobby breeders, having downsized from the 1990s staple parrots like Amazons, cockatoos and macaws, have filled their aviaries with these adorable and potentially profitable conures. Personally, I am not a fan of mutation breeding, but in the past decade or so, aviculture has seen a wide variety of attractive colour combinations among these parrots.

Since not all of the 15-plus species of Pyrrhura are readily available in aviculture, and given that my experience is only with Green-cheeked, Maroon-bellied, Painted, Blue-throated and Hoffmann’s Conures in this genus, I will discuss personality, care and pet qualities for the group as a single whole.

HABITSWhen referring to ‘big bird’ characteristics, these diminutive hookbills have a feistiness that frequently belies their size. Individuals have been known to not back down from a

confrontation with a parrot two or more times bigger. In fact, many of the Green-cheeked and Maroon-bellied Parrots we sold over the years from Feathered Friends of Santa Fe went into homes as hopeful buddies for larger Aratinga, Pionus species and Timneh Grey, or smaller species of cockatoo.

They also made acceptable companion birds for Cockatiels, lovebirds, caiques and the like.

They behave like larger conures, hold food bits in their claws, vocalise regularly with their flock, and even make brave attempts at speaking clear human talk, despite their tiny voices. Some small conures may display a ‘possessive’ streak that can be associated with one or two favourite human keepers. Females do this less than males, but it is something to watch out for when teaching young fledglings about pet parrot social norms.

Green-cheeked Conures are popular pets in Australia

P O

DEKE

RKEN

Blue-throated Conures, once quite rare in aviculture, are now sometimes offered as pets

D TH

OM

PSO

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WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER ODEKERKEN

INTRODUCTIONIn Australia we have our own equally beautiful pastel-coloured bird, the Princess Parrot and I must say that to me the Malabar Parakeet Psittacula columboides, an Indian species, is worthy of being considered in an aviary due to its attractive colouration. This species is seldom seen in most Australian and overseas collections although I have been surprised to find more aviculturists keeping this species in Australia than abroad and I am pleased to comment that they seem to be established in Australian aviaries.

DESCRIPTIONThe accompanying images indicate the beauty of this species. Juveniles are similar in appearance to adult females but lack the black collar—or at least it is indistinct. The bill is light orange and changes to black after the juvenile moult. Young colour into adult plumage at about 18 months old, and in young males the upper mandible starts to change to red at about 10 months old.

an Asiatic pastel perfection

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