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Vol 28 Issue 8 • Apr-May 2015
Green Rosella YELLOW-COLLARED MACAW
Yellow-streaked
Lory
CHESTNUT-BREASTED MUNIA
Poultry Reproductive Problems Pet Birds
Bird Behaviour Tips and Parrot Intelligence
Vol 28 Issue 8 • Apr-May 2015
Green Rosella YELLOW-COLLARED MACAW
Yellow-streaked
Lory
CHESTNUT-BREASTED MUNIA
Poultry Reproductive Problems Pet Birds
COVER IMAGE YELLOW-STREAKED LORY BY PETER ODEKERKEN
Bird Behaviour Tips and Parrot Intelligence
contents Volume 28 Issue 8
features
504 AUSTRALIAN LORIKEETS STAR IN EUROPEAN ZOOS
481 YELLOW-COLLARED MACAWS
By Rosemary Low
By Jade Welch & Mark Mills Why would a female that would later prove to be a caring parent and a tight sitter, smash her first three eggs?
Aussies take the colourful and social Rainbow Lorikeet for granted, but elsewhere this ‘jewel’ evokes exclamations of wonder.
492 PARROTS— TALK ABOUT CLEVER!
506 NEW ENGLAND GEMS
526 THE BIRDMEN OF ARGYLE
By Kevin Solomon
By Tash Holden
Double-barred, Red-browed, Zebra, Plum-headed and Diamond Firetail Finches all call the New England Tablelands home.
527 ADVERTORIAL: NATURALLY FOR BIRDS—A REVOLUTION IN BIRD KEEPING
502 THE WISE OWL: THE LUCKY COUNTRY
520 CANARY CHATTER: BREEDING CANARIES IN AUSTRALIA
By Milton Lewis Our birds are so unique and so prized globally, we should take pride in what we have and keep it safe.
By Brian Bohl The Australian experience is quite different to what we read about in so many Northern Hemisphere publications.
508 HOOKBILL HOBBYIST: THE DILEMMA OF WHITE COCKATOOS AS PETS
528 YOUNG BIRD KEEPER: MY BUDGERIGAR JOURNEY
By Dorothy Schwarz Parrots do not just repeat words— they understand and use them appropriately. Can there be any doubt as to their intelligence?
regulars 484 FINCH FOCUS: CHESTNUT-BREASTED MUNIAS
By Russell Kingston Loved by overseas breeders, the attractive and hardy ‘Bully’ is sadly overlooked at home in Australia. 488 BREEDING AUSTRALIAN PARROTS: GREEN ROSELLAS
By Barry Blanch Australia’s largest broad-tailed rosella, the Green Rosella (or Tassie Green) is particularly challenging to keep and breed in warmer climates. 495 BUSH TUCKER: FOODS FROM THE MIMOSACEAE FAMILY
By Des Boorman Acacias are diverse, easy to grow, often ornamental and have functional uses as well as being great for bird food. 498 BUILDING BLOCKS FOR BETTER BIRDS: GOOD BEHAVIOUR THROUGH TRAINING
By Rebecca K O’Connor You don’t have to train your parrot to do anything difficult to make life easier and have fun with it, and encourage good behaviour at the same time.
By EB Cravens White cockatoos demand a stimulating, changing, challenging, athletic calorieconsuming lifestyle. 514 FINCH FUNDAMENTALS: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A TASSIE FINCHO
By Marcus Pollard When you get bitten by the finch bug, seek out as many finchos in your local area as you can to avoid following Marcus’s tale of calamity. 517 ABOUT BIRDS: MULTIFACETED BIRD LEGS
By Kit Prendergast With their forelimbs dedicated to flight, birds’ legs take on a new importance not just in movement, but feeding, heat loss and more.
510 THE YELLOW-STREAKED LORY
By Peter Odekerken Still rare in Australia, this species is colourful and vivacious, making it desirable to keep and breed in captivity. 522 AVES INTERNATIONAL PARROT CONVENTION 2015
By Russell Kingston
By Sophie Hollingsworth 530 CONSERVATION: GOOD NEWS FOR THE AMAZONS OF TAMAULIPAS, MEXICO
By Dr David Waugh Numbers of the globally endangered Yellow-headed and Green-cheeked Amazons, as well as Red-lored Amazons, appear better than 20 years ago. 532 WHAT’S NEW
• David Attenborough’s Conquest of the Skies—3D DVD 533 LAST CHIRP:
• Special Youth Meeting By Shayne Speechley Fourteen new junior members join the Mornington Peninsula Aviculture Society.
500 AVIAN HEALTH WITH DR BOB: REPRODUCTIVE PROBLEMS IN BACKYARD POULTRY
By Dr Bob Doneley With the resurgence in the popularity of keeping backyard poultry, more hens are being presented at vets with reproductive diseases.
534 classifieds 479
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JADE WELCH & MARK MILLS
P ODEKERKEN
Yellow-collared
Yellow-collared Macaw pair
INTRODUCTION
Yellow-collared and Scarlet Macaws are the most recent additions to our aviaries at Perky Parrots. Both species are beautiful in their own way and deserving of an individual article but, for now, the Scarlet will have to wait. For many years the Yellow-collared Macaw has been of great interest to us and a species Mark wanted to keep. However, until recently this mini-macaw has been hard to obtain because of low numbers. They have a reputation as a great pet bird and so far this has been found to be true. Although the birds have only been in the aviaries for a short time, we will share our experiences so far.
ACQUIRING STOCK
Before acquiring stock, a lot of research went into what was available and from where. With an imbalance in the sexes— with males far outnumbering females—it was decided that we had to look around. Fortunately, a young breeding pair was located and purchased from a reputable breeder. After the standard health checks, the birds were introduced to a quarantine aviary where all new birds are isolated for eight weeks. For quarantine housing we prefer to use aviaries over cages for a number of reasons, one being that it allows the birds to continue doing what they do naturally—fly. Secondly, it can stress the birds more if they feel they cannot get away from the keeper. The Yellow-collared Macaws stayed in quarantine for two months.
HOUSING
Yellow-collared Macaw Ara auricollis
After the quarantine period the pair was relocated to a suspended aviary that backed onto a 1.5m-wide walkway. The aviary measured 4m long x 1.2m high x 1.2m wide and was 1.2m off the ground. The rear sides of the aviaries are clad with Colorbond™ towards the rear half and the front half are double-wired, so neighbouring birds can see each other. A grandfather clock-style nest box is attached to the aviary via the walkway, allowing for easy inspections. The aviaries in that bank were originally intended for pairing young birds rather than breeding. Due to space limitations at the time we chose to move the Yellow-collared Macaw pair into this housing. Beside them there was a pair of Blue-fronted Amazons.
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P ODEKERKEN
Green Rosella male
Green Rosella juvenile
Juveniles are a duller, motley yellow-green with an olivegreen mantle and back. As with all other rosellas, juveniles have the white wing stripe that the females maintain after the birds obtain their adult plumage between 14–16 months. Tassie Greens have the distinct pleasant ‘tzwicha tzwicha’ and ‘kwik kweek’ call of the rosella when chattering or during courtship and also the intense high-pitched shrill alarm calls.
IN CAPTIVITY Housing
When housing the Green Rosella in the warmer northern areas, consideration must be given to the bird’s wellbeing and environment, keeping in mind the bird’s heavy down feathers, size and undulating flight pattern. I have found that younger birds adapt more readily to being moved to a warm climate than mature birds, which often become distressed during heat wave conditions and will unfortunately either pluck themselves or go into a heavy moult. Flights measuring 4–5m long x 1m wide and 2.4m high are ideal, as long as the aviary is situated in a shady area with plenty of ventilation. This varies from state to state and proximity to the warmer latitudes and climatic regions. Various adjustments and alterations to the conventional flight can provide improved conditions for the Green Rosella’s health. In northern Australian areas an insulated roof area is a requirement to regulate the temperature, especially when the aviary is in an open area and not shaded by trees. A second raised roof area can also reduce the heat in the aviary. This roof area could be covered with shade cloth, allowing rain and rising warm air to flow through the open flight area. To decrease heat distress during the summer breeding season in the warmer climates, installing an air cooler ventilating system to the undercover nest areas is an important consideration. To avoid trapping hot air in a flight with fully closed-in back and side walls, I have found wiring the bottom half of the shelter area facilitates air flow. Concrete floors can help keep flights cooler as long as the area is shaded without direct sun heating the aviary floor. In northern states, installing a water misting system only over shaded flights will also assist in reducing temperatures, as well as provide a source for the birds’ bathing regime. Misting of exposed flights without shade will significantly increase the humidity and discomfort for these rosellas.
Green Rosella female
Green Rosellas have a ttendency d tto bi bicker, k especially i ll d during i the breeding season. As with most rosella species, they need to be separated from other broad-tails and pairs of rosellas and housed one pair to a flight. To avoid confrontations, Green Rosellas are ideally housed between parrots with a quieter temperament such as Regents, Superbs, Princess and Kings or, if this isn’t possible, place in double-wired flights.
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WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOROTHY SCHWARZ
Clever! TALK ABOUT
P
sittacines are intelligent. By intelligent I mean able to learn facts and skills and apply them, especially when this ability is highly developed. This article looks at parrot intelligence from personal experience, as well as from recent research in wild and captive parrots.
SPEAKING IN CONTEXT
Let’s take talking. Parrots aren’t the only talking birds. Mynahs, corvids (crows, ravens and magpies) and especially lyrebirds imitate human language and activities. Parrots will speak in whatever language is relevant to their situation, whether that be English, Japanese, Arabic or any other language they’ve heard spoken around them. But do parrots know what they are saying? Most parrot owners swear that they do. African Greys and Amazons utilise the largest vocabulary of human words and Amazons are the best singers of our music. Although Greys are fluent speakers, not many of them will speak on cue. During an hour-long Skype conversation I was having with an American Grey owner, Paula Feldman, neither her Grey, Rachel, nor my Grey, Artha, uttered a word. However, I believe that Rachel’s vocabulary of over 300 words, as transcribed by Paula, is quite accurate. Paula said, ‘As an English professor, I love being able to have a conversation with my companion animal’. Rachel joins Peter and Paula at the dinner table (as my Greys do at home). One night they forgot to bring Rachel in. Suddenly, they heard a small voice call out: ‘Rachel—supper!’ That’s when they first began to suspect that Rachel understood more than they’d thought about the language she used. Like many Greys, if Rachel does not get what she wants, she insists. Her favourite food, corn-on-the-cob, is prepared in the microwave. When it pings, she often calls out ‘corn’. If corn isn’t forthcoming, she will sing in an operatic voice, ‘coo-r-r-r-r-n’. Paula returned one day from the office and, as usual, greeted her Grey. ‘Hi, how are you, Rachel?’ The bird replied, ‘Incarcerated’. Paula told me, ‘I never taught her that word, but she’d have heard me use it occasionally. There are simply too many instances in which Rachel uses language appropriately for it to be mere coincidence’. Sole birds are often reported to have vast vocabularies. Fourteen-year-old N’kisi, an African Grey, who lives in New York with her carer Morgana, has a vocabulary of over 1000 words. On one occasion, N’Kisi asked Jane Goodall, who was visiting the apartment, ‘Got a chimp?’ Morgana said that before Goodall’s arrival, she had explained to N’kisi about her work with chimpanzees.
ALEX—PIONEER IN PARROT INTELLIGENCE
The parrot which probably did the most to expand our understanding of parrot intelligence was Alex, the African Grey whose name is an acronym for Animal Learning Experiment. For those who may not have heard of Alex, he was the subject of a 30-year study by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, carried out at several notable universities from 1977–2007. In December 1980, Kathy Davidson, one of the laboratory students, took Alex to the washroom. Alex noticed the mirror for the first time. He cocked his head back and forth a few times to get a fuller look, and said, ‘What’s that?’
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Grey Parrots are renowned for their intelligence
‘That’s you. You’re a parrot,’ Kathy answered. ‘What colour?’ asked the bird. ‘Grey. You’re a grey parrot, Alex.’ And that’s how Alex learned the colour grey. Alex was a captive-bred bird, purchased from a pet shop at about one year old. Although bought as a laboratory research animal, the relationship between Alex and Dr Pepperberg deepened. ‘He became my colleague.’ Dr Pepperberg said. She has never claimed that Alex used language in a human fashion. But the two-way communication code developed between bird and researchers, and later with the other Greys who joined the lab, worked. Dr Pepperberg’s work with Alex provided incontrovertible proof to everyone but the most unreasonable sceptics that Alex performed various cognitive tasks as well as the great apes, and at the level of a young child. His astounding abilities were displayed through his use of language. Alex could count up to six, knew colours, shapes and qualities of objects. He could tell you what material an object was made of. Towards the end of his life, he appeared to have an awareness of the concept of zero.
BRAIN SIZE IS COMPARATIVE
The brain-to-body ratio of parrots and corvids is comparable to that of higher primates. It used to be said that birds could not be intelligent because they had a relatively small cerebral cortex—the part of our brain that makes us clever. What scientists then discovered was that birds use a different part of the brain, the medio-rostral, as the seat of their intelligence. Harvey J Karten, a neuroscientist from the University of California, discovered while studying bird physiology that the lower part of the avian brain is functionally similar to that in humans. Not only have parrots demonstrated intelligence through scientific testing of their language ability, but species of parrot such as keas and cockatoos have shown themselves to be highly skilled at using tools and solving puzzles.
CO-OPERATION AND PROBLEM-SOLVING
New Zealand Keas Nestor nobilis are reputed to be among the cleverest birds of all. Researchers were astounded when they set up an apparatus in which, to get the treat, one Kea had to pull a string to raise a lever so the other one could extract the food. The Kea succeeded. At Natural Encounters Incorporated, Steve Martin’s ranch in Florida, I assisted at training sessions with a Kea which, after a few sessions, learned to select the right colour from a choice of red, blue, green and yellow rings and slot each one correctly onto a board. I have witnessed co-operation in my own flock. Biscuits are kept in a tin. Biscuits are not good for parrots, so I put the tin upside down on the kitchen table. When the Greys, Artha and Casper, are free in the house in the evening, they’ve learned how to open the tin by each raising a corner together, flipping it upright, raising the lid and extracting a biscuit. The tin now remains shut in a cupboard.
building blocks FOR BETTER BIRDS
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY REBECCA K O’CONNOR W
T
GOOD BEHAVIOUR THROUGH TRAINING G
he best way to deal with undesirable parrot behaviour is to avoid it. It can be disheartening to hear that behaviour repeats itself because it’s been rewarded. Often, we don’t realise we are encouraging aggression, screaming and other behaviours that are problematic. The good news is that simple training can help avoid aggression and screaming. It doesn’t take much time either. If you mindfully train just a few things, are consistent and use positive reinforcement, you can avoid many of the common problems that parrot owners face.
AVOIDING CAGE AGGRESSION
It is important to recognise the subtle body language of impending aggression. One of the most common instances of aggression occurs inside the cage. Many people don’t pay attention to parrot body language when approaching a bird’s cage. If you already have a great relationship with your parrot, you probably don’t have to be too concerned about its comfort level with you. However, when a stranger walks up to a parrot’s cage, they often don’t notice the parrot’s subtle body language demonstrating that it is uncomfortable—especially if the person has little experience with parrots. When this happens often, the parrot quickly learns that subtlety is pointless. The only way to get a person to back up and give it space is to lunge and bite at the cage.
REACT APPROPRIATELY TO BODY LANGUAGE
J WELCH
The easiest way to avoid cage aggression is to let your parrot train you and others who interact with it. If the parrot shows fearful behaviour, such as leaning away when you approach, slicking down its feathers, or alarm-calling, then give it space and only approach when the parrot is comfortable. The same is true when your parrot shows any aggression. Give your bird space when it demonstrates even small signs of aggression, such as eye-pinning or biting at the cage bars— back away. The parrot will learn that people are mindful of its space as long as it demonstrates its unease. However, the very best way to avoid aggressive behaviour is with a bit of training.
It is important to recognise the th he sub subtle tle body language of impending aggression
498
‘STATIONING’ IN THE CAGE
Stationing—training a parrot to go to a certain perch in the cage and wait—can build a stronger relationship and eliminate aggression. This is especially helpful if you have a parrot that insists on lunging and biting while you change food bowls or toys, and clean. Chances are that a lot of the time your parrot is out of its cage when you are cleaning or feeding. However, if there are people in the house who cannot handle the parrot, or if you are away and someone is petsitting, this may not be an option. In general, having a parrot that politely waits while you work around it is an excellent behaviour to train. Start by leading your parrot to a perch in its cage that is out of the way. Make sure it is a comfortable perch that is the right width for your bird’s feet and allows it to sit without bumping into things. You can lead the parrot with a treat the first couple of times or just point to the perch if your parrot will follow. Then, when the parrot is sitting with both feet on the perch, say ‘good’ and give it a treat. If you have a parrot that isn’t very food-motivated, give it a scratch or just interact with it. Repeat this until your parrot will go to the perch just by pointing, always saying ‘good’ and rewarding the parrot when it puts both feet on the perch. Once your parrot understands the hand signal for going to the stationing perch, work on getting it to sit for longer intervals. At first, don’t say ‘good’ and give the reward until your parrot has been sitting on the perch for three seconds. Then stretch this out for six seconds. From here you can lengthen the time to 12 seconds, then 24. Work on this until you can get your parrot to sit on the perch for a minute or longer. If your parrot leaves the perch before you can reward it, just cue it to go to the perch again by pointing, and shorten up the time you are asking it to sit and wait before it gets its reward. You’ll notice soon that your parrot goes right to the station perch when you approach the cage, hoping for a treat or some attention. If you continue to reward this behaviour, you will have a parrot that waits patiently for something good to happen on its now-favourite perch. Not only have you removed the likelihood of aggression, but you have made people approaching the cage a positive event. African Grey Parrot—it is best to avoid aggression before it escalates to biting
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY DR BOB DONELEY BVSc FACVSc CMAVA W
REPRODUCTIVE PROBLEMS IN BACKYARD POULTRY R INTRODUCTION
DIAGNOSING REPRODUCTIVE DISEASE
The keeping of backyard poultry has become incredibly popular over the past 10 years, not just in Australia but all around the world. My veterinary colleagues in the UK, Europe and the USA all report the same phenomenon and with it a surge in the number of chickens presented as pets to veterinary clinics. The close bond between the owner and the chicken requires a different approach to assessing and treating these birds than the traditional commercial poultry approach, where the good of the many is more important than the good of the few. This is exemplified by our approach to reproductive disease in backyard chickens. Over many decades the poultry industry has selectively bred for hens that mature early, lay eggs prolifically for a few years and then, when problems begin they are culled and replaced by younger birds. The result is a much higher incidence of reproductive disease in hens over two years old than in any other birds. This article explores some of these problems and how veterinarians are diagnosing and treating them.
The first step in diagnosing reproductive disease is obtaining a good history of your bird. Your vet will want to know where you got her, and how long ago. Also where you keep her, what you feed her, how many other birds you have, what parasite control you use and what her egg production has been like. The next step is to find out more about what is happening. When did it start? Are other birds affected? What signs have you seen, and what is the bird doing now that prompted you to come in? A physical examination is then performed. Your vet will weigh the hen, listen to its heart and lungs, and look at everything that can be examined externally. An important part of this examination is carefully pressing on the belly (palpation) to feel for fluid, eggs, or other internal abnormalities. This examination often provides much valuable information but may not be enough to reach a definitive diagnosis. If that is the case, your vet will discuss the use of diagnostic testing to gather even more information. The tests most commonly used are: • Blood tests—looking for a high white cell count indicating inflammation or infection, high calcium, cholesterol and triglycerides indicating reproductive activity, and an assessment of kidney and liver function. • Examination of any fluid drained off the belly—looking for inflammatory cells, cancer cells and bacteria. • X-rays—looking for retained eggs or egg shells or other abnormalities in the belly. • Ultrasound is often used when a lot of fluid is present in the belly, as X-rays may not be able to give a clear picture. Even after all of these tests, your vet may still not be able to give all the answers needed for an accurate diagnosis. More invasive tests, such as endoscopy or exploratory surgery, may be recommended in some cases. This will be discussed with you before any action is taken.
SIGNS OF REPRODUCTIVE DISEASE There are some clues that a chicken is starting to develop reproductive problems: • The age of the bird: Most chickens with reproductive problems are aged 2–3 years. Although younger birds can occasionally get problems such as eggbinding, it is usually the older ones, worn out by The ridges and grooves on many months of prolific this egg indicate uterine egg-laying, which get into disease trouble. • Decrease in the number of eggs laid: This is often the first clue that trouble is brewing. Although hens will stop laying for a short time when they moult or are under other stresses, they usually resume laying after a few weeks. A hen that hasn’t laid any eggs for a few months is a different proposition and needs to be investigated by an avian vet. • Changes in the eggs: As the bird’s oviduct starts to wear out, it becomes swollen and bruised. This changes the quality of the egg shell and the egg. Eggs may be smaller than usual, the egg white may be watery, there may be blood on the egg shell, and the egg shell may have grooves and ridges on it. • Discharge: There may be a milky white discharge from the cloaca as fluid oozes from the diseased oviduct. • The hen looks unwell: These signs are not specific for reproductive disease but are an indicator that the bird is unwell. The comb and wattles become pale. The bird’s appetite drops off. There may be white urates caked around the tail (‘vent gleet’). The belly becomes swollen and the bird starts to mouthbreathe because fluid accumulates in the belly, compressing the air sacs and making it more difficult to breathe.
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COMMON PROBLEMS Although we use the term ‘reproductive disease’ as a blanket term, it encompasses many different diseases.
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PLUM-HEADED FINCHES
Plum-headed Finches Aidemosyne modesta move around much more than other species. Sometimes large flocks chase new growth grasses and recent rains. I found a small flock, in company with some sparrows, on a rusty farm gate near Glenlyon Dam. This is often the case when populations drop to low numbers—different species find safety and comfort together. In the same area, we found Double-barred and Red-browed Finches feeding together on green seed along the side of the road.
ZEBRA FINCHES
Zebra Finches Poephila guttata are widespread in the Australian interior and present on the Tablelands, often in huge flocks. They occur more in open, dry grassland country. I have known them to reside in orange groves for more than a year, only to move on without notice. Muddy dams in cattle country with low, scrubby bush are enough to encourage the finches to stay for a while. As usual, I came across small flocks in the flatter, drier parts of western New England, while raking November grass for my finches at home. The Zebras’ contact call, which sounds like a wooden horn, gave the game away, as I worked in the sun to gather as much of the bright yellow grass as possible.
A cheeky Double-barred Finch drops in for a drink
DOUBLE-BARRED FINCHES
The White-rumped Double-bar Poephila bichenovii has quite a large range across eastern Australia, including New England. No matter how far I travel, I never seem to be far from their distinctive ‘meow’ call. They are easy to spot along watercourses, even in towns and on farm properties, often in company with Red-browed Finches. Once again, rains and local water play an important role in their survival.
CONCLUSION
It is true to say that camera equipment now takes priority over sieves and shovels on our visits to New England. Every visit reveals more of this unique strip of country in which the finches live. We push ourselves into the soft heathcovered sides of the stream and wait for the birds to make an appearance to drink and bathe. A thermos and a folding chair are planned-for luxuries. I am still hopeful of discovering the elusive Chocolate Parson Finch. I’m sure it will make an appearance one day.
REFERENCE
O’Gorman, B 1981, ‘A Prolonged Field Study of the Diamond Firetail’, Australian Aviculture, January, pp. 14–27.
Zebra Finch hiding in scrub
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C. s. chloroptera from South-eastern New Guinea—note the lack of red underwing coverts and much less black on the head compared to the western subspecies
T
he Yellow-streaked Lory Chalcopsitta scintillata is still a rare bird in Australia, although its numbers are starting to build. The qualities of a wonderful colouration and vivacious nature make it desirable to keep and breed in captivity.
SUBSPECIES
There are three recognised forms of the Yellow-streaked Lory. The nominate C. s. scintillata race is found in New Guinea, from the far west near Triton Bay in the south to Geelvink Bay in the north, along the southern side of the central mountain range to the lower Fly River. C. s. chloroptera extends the range from the Fly River, following the southern watershed to the east to about Port Moresby. This race can be easily identified because it has green rather than red underwing coverts. There are some other subtle differences like thinner streaking, but I feel this is subjective. C. s. rubifrons is confined to the Aru Islands and displays wider streaking than the nominate (subjective) and the streaks are orange rather than yellow.
STATUS AND HABITS IN THE WILD
This is a lowland species, seldom found higher than 800m in elevation. It occurs in open savannah, mangroves, coconut plantations, clearings in disturbed habitat and forested areas. I have seen them west of Port Moresby in forest where we had stopped to see a pigeon. Once out of the car, their familiar raucous screeches alerted me to their presence. It was not long before I located a flock of five birds sitting in a nearby tree, no doubt displeased by our vehicle passing through their territory. They are relatively common within their range and thankfully are not considered to make good pets, meaning the local inhabitants don’t generally catch them for sale. Their voice also saves them from this persecution. (Unfortunately, a species like the Black-capped Lory Lorius lory, with its striking colours and its voice of primarily whistles, unless startled, is highly regarded and often trapped for the pet market.)
The Yellow-streaked Lory is usually found in smaller flocks of 5–6 birds, but larger flocks can be observed at roosting sites or at a favoured fruiting or flowering tree. They are often found at these food sources with other lorikeet species such as Rainbow Lorikeets and the small Red-flanked Lorikeet. Coconut trees, Sago Palm and the Umbrella Tree Schefflera spp. are frequented when in flower. The breeding season is no doubt balanced around the abundance of flowering trees from February to September. Very little is recorded about nesting in the wild, but in most cases a hollow in a large tree would be suitable. However, I would not be surprised if the root ball of a large epiphyte was used, as if it were large enough, it would not be difficult to excavate a cavity for nesting purposes, and they are usually well camouflaged by vegetation—I have seen Red-flanked Lorikeets using such nest sites.
IN CAPTIVITY Housing
I’m sure people will say that you can keep Yellow-streaked Lories in shorter aviaries, but I prefer the minimum length to be 3m x 1.2m high x at least 90cm wide. This gives the birds enough room to exercise and keep fit. My aviaries are suspended, as it makes it so much easier to keep the aviaries clean. They are also constructed with a frame of 25mm square galvanised tube, but recently I have seen cages constructed using 12.7mm square x 1.45mm thick Italian weldmesh wire and, because it is a thick wire, it is rigid enough to support itself without a frame, which is obviously a cheaper and quicker way of constructing a suspended aviary. These frameless aviaries are suspended on supports just as you need to with framed aviaries above the ground. The aviaries need a covered area for protection from the elements and this is where food bowls and the nest box are placed for privacy and protection from the weather. I use Colorbond™ sheeting and roofing to provide protection. New, fresh natural perches should be provided frequently as they give the birds the opportunity to grip different
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