PUBLISHED FOR BIRD LOVERS BY BIRD LOVERS
Aviarylife www.aviarylife.com.au
Issue 01/2018 02/2017 $12.45 Incl. GST Australia
ISSN 1832-3405
Macrorhynchus Red-tail Red-whiskered Bulbul Horned Parakeets Wisbroek Breeding Centre Western Ground Dreams Do Come True Parrot The Musk Lorikeet Stan Sindel Which Parrotfinch- for me Finch Aviculture A Masterclass
HARI (Hagen Avicultural Research Institute) continues to evolve into a world class Psittacine captive breeding, nutrition and research facility. · Trusted by veterinarians worldwide · Dedicated to globally supporting the avian community – veterinarians, breeders, rescues, aviculturists, conservation field biologists and pet parents. All formulas are produced in a state-of-the-art food plant
· Complete balanced diet in the form of extruded pellets · No artificial preservatives, colors or flavors · Multi sizes and shapes satisfy a wide range of species
Each batch tested for nutritional value
Each batch fed to HARI’s flock since 1987
· Multi-grain variety with tasty fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and with the added benefit of Tropican · Familiarizes seed eating birds with the nutritionally balanced benefits of an extruded food · Provides a stimulating eating experience and foraging opportunities
Horned Parakeet
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Regulars 04
Editors Column
07
On The Wing
09
The Bird Word – Opinions Uncaged
26
Conservation Watch
30
Centrefold
46
Wild Watch
48
Aviary Watch
50
Club Watch
53
Classifieds
Features 05
The Final Chirp
12
Finch Fanatic – As Dedicated as They Come Part 2
17
Guide to Finch Prices in Australia 2018
18
Which Parrotfinch for me?
24
Aviculture and Threatened Species – Finding a way forward
18
Simon Degenhard
Simon Degenhard
The Finch Society of Australia Inc
33
Graham Bull
Threatened Species Commissioner Meeting Summary
33
The Horned Parakeet Eunymphicus Cornutus – “Stunningly Beautiful, but Somewhat Challenging”
38
Philippe Crayssac. Photos by Vitiga Vitiga
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The Red-whiskered Bulbul Simon Degenhard
41
Stan Sindel – A Life with Birds Simon Degenhard
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Cover Image - Spix's Macaw's at ACTP Cyanopsitta spixii Photographer Simon Degenhard
No. 1 2018
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’day and welcome to the first Issue of 2018 and the very first Issue of the FREE Global E-magazine! I am extremely excited about the launch of the FREE Global E-magazine, to say the very least; it’s a brand new chapter for Aviarylife and will allow us to reach countless people throughout the World. I am extremely passionate about promoting the love of birds, aviculture and conservation as far and wide as possible and in particular to the younger generations and this move will allow my dream of doing so on a Global scale to become reality. Please help us spread the word by telling everyone that you know, who shares our love of all things feathered, about the new FREE Aviarylife Global E-magazine and in turn assist us to deliver up-to-date, relevant information and news from qualified, reliable sources to the World. Together we can make a positive difference for the welfare of birds right across the Globe! Wow! What a roller-coaster ride last year was, it seemed to go by in a blink of an eye! And now we’re already well and truly off and running for 2018. This year is shaping to be a massive year, with positivity being the key in my opinion. I can see aviculture turning a corner, getting on the front foot and moving forward. I can see private aviculture finally being acknowledged by government as a currently untapped source of knowledge and experience in terms of captive breeding programs for threatened species. I can see aviculture playing many positive roles and in turn this will mean longevity for our beloved hobby and greater respect from the general public for what we do. As a team working together, we can do great things, both for aviculture and conservation. I note that there are a number of clubs/ societies who are actively promoting aviculture to the younger generation, not only through general encouragement, but also by providing budding young breeders with both birds and aviaries. These initiatives are fantastic and are essential for the longevity of our hobby. I have had discussions with many birdos re attracting more kids into our hobby, and so many, including myself, will recount stories of “an old local breeder taking them under their wing, showing them their birds and giving them a pair or two to get them started” – these memories stick in people’s minds and I feel that such introductions to our wonderful hobby can make all the difference when it comes to turning an interest in birds into a lifelong passion! If we all do our little bit to encourage and mentor these kids, then I believe that the future of aviculture will be in good hands. There are big things happening in conservation, both here and abroad, with the announcement in mid-December last year of the recent formation of a partnership between the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia and ACTP to help save the highly threatened Western Ground Parrot, being especially of note – see the write-up on page 7 for more on this exciting news. Another exciting partnership was formed earlier last year and officially announced to the world in November with the arrival of two Spix’s Macaws at Jurong Bird Park in Singapore; these two are now ambassador birds for this incredible small macaw and will help spread awareness of
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No. 1 2018
Aviarylife Editor Simon Degenhard Ph. 0429 008 850 Email: simon@aviarylife.com.au
the plight of this species; the rarest parrot in the world. Jurong is now an official partner of the Spix’s Macaw Recovery Program – see page 8 for more on this, as well as other news from Jurong. There are also further big announcements coming in regards to a number of other conservation projects around the world, so stay tuned for these throughout the course of 2018. Back on the 14th of December a group of very dedicated aviculturists, led by Sam Davis, met with the Threatened Species Commissioner in Canberra. The other four members of this committee were Gary Fitt, Graeme Phipps, Steve Sass and yours truly. Our mission for this meeting was to start a dialogue with the commissioner in regards to the involvement of private (non-commercial) aviculture in the saving of threatened species. As we aviculturists are already well aware, we have many people amongst us who have knowledge and experience that is second to none and who would jump at the chance to help save our threatened species, yet this resource has been more or less left completely untapped until now. The meeting was a very positive first step and I congratulate all of my co-members on this committee for their involvement and dedication to this cause. Please see pages 24 and 25 for more on this very successful meeting with the Threatened Species Commissioner. Now for more info on the FREE Aviarylife Global E-magazine and how you will be able to access it. The E-magazine will continue to be produced in PDF format, which means that it can be easily downloaded onto your favourite device and will then be right there ready to read whenever you wish to do so, regardless of whether you’re online or not. For now the FREE Global E-magazine will be uploaded to a cloud server, the link will then be posted on both the Aviarylife website and Facebook page. This link can also be emailed direct to those who would prefer this. This format of the magazine will be totally free of charge throughout the world and will be produced on a monthly basis. But don’t worry, for those who still prefer the printed magazine, this will still be available on a quarterly basis via paid subscription or from newsagents across Australia. Before I sign off, do yourselves a favour and check out the full-page ad on page 28 for the Parrot Society of New Zealand Convention coming up in April this year. This convention promises to be a must attend event and I really look forward to seeing everyone there! Anyway, that’s enough from the editor’s desk for this issue; I’ll leave you all to enjoy this bumper edition of your favourite global bird mag. Until next time, take care, enjoy life and don’t forget to keep spreading the bird word! Cheers,
Simon
Assistant Editor Graham Banks Subscriptions Simon Degenhard Ph. 0429 008 850 Email: simon@aviarylife.com.au Display Advertising & Classified Advertising Simon Degenhard Ph. 0429 008 850 Email: simon@aviarylife.com.au Design, Layout & Artwork Graham Banks ICT Support Officer Graham Banks Contributors If you wish to submit an article or if you have an idea, please contact our office on 0429 008 850 for details Printing Pegasus Print Group Distributor Gordon and Gotch Contact Details Australian Aviary Life Ph: 0429 008 850 PO Box 39, Bellingen, NSW, 2454, Australia Email: simon@aviarylife.com.au Website: www.aviarylife.com.au ISSN 1832-3405 Disclaimer While every care is taken the publisher accepts no responsibility for the content of advertising or editorial material submitted and published. It is the responsibility of advertisers to ensure that their advertisement is truthful, law abiding and meets all statutory government requirements. Articles represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the publisher. Australian Aviarylife also reserves the right to refuse any advertising that it considers to be detrimental or conflicting with the integrity of this publication. Australian Aviary Life. Copyright It is an offence under the commonwealth copyright act 1968 to reproduce any part of this publication, including Advertising, artwork and photography without prior written consent of publisher. ©2018 Australian Aviary Life. All rights reserved