Talking Birds April 2017 Preview

sive Comprehen t and relevan information ple for bird peo

Talking

Birds

$4 parrots, finches, budgies, canaries, pets, fancy poultry & pigeons, veterinary advice, Aust.& world news, conservation

BIRD WORDS EVERY MONTH April 2017

Philpot: WhatÂ’s behind and whatÂ’s ahead

More night Aggressive Canary parrots in Cuban feeding WA & Qld finches critical

Good, bad budgie answers

New virus threatens pigeons

Archangel rainbow pigeons

Changing bad pet behaviour

Scaly lorikeets good pets

THIS MONTH IN YOUR MAGAZINE Australasian feathered news in brief 3 Avian vet directory 17 Aviary Marketplace 25 Budgies: Answers can be good or bad 13 Canaries: Feeding and nutrition critical 12 Cassowaries facing many threats 19 Club and avian vet listings 27 Club news 26 Fancy pigeons: Beautiful rainbow birds 14 Finches: Blackthroat s bad reputation 22 Finches: Cubans hate yellow birds 10 Finches: Mallee emu-wren insurance 23

T HE drama surrounding bird sales in Victoria is hopefully at an end after that state’s agriculture minister agreed to an exemption which will once again allow non-native birds to be sold at sales.

That exemption, along with the one from the environment minister which allows sales to happen, can be cancelled any time.

If all Victorian clubs ensure that sales are run properly, with no ammunition provided to antibird activists, there will be no reason for either of those two exemptions to be rescinded.

The Victorian Avicultural Council has done plenty to educate clubs and hopefully they will all do the right thing, but that remains to be seen given that in the past some clubs have blatantly disregarded the rules.

■ FEEDBACK: Some people lie and some tell the truth. That applies to budgie breeders in the same way that it relates to the wider population.

Budgie expert Fred Wright has interviewed myriad breeders over the years and this month he examines those experiences.

■ FAR FROM SIMPLE: Some birds thrive no matter what you feed them and others need heaps of attention when it comes to diet.

This month canary man Jeff

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING Lloyd Marshall Telephone.............................03 5983 2566 Email................. lloyd@talkingbirds.com.au Website .............www.talkingbirds.com.au PO Box 216 Balnarring VIC 3926 Australia DEADLINES FOR ADVERTISING BOOKINGS AND COPY May 2017 edition Display advertisements.................April 14 Aviary marketplace........................April 21 SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions to Talking Birds, which cost $4 a month anywhere in the world, can be arranged by filling out the subscription form on the final page of this edition and sending it together with the appropriate payment or credit card details. The form can also be found at www.talking birds.com.au COPYRIGHT Copyright for all editorial copy and photographs published in Talking Birds remains with the author or photographer and cannot be reproduced in any media without the author s/photographer s permission.

Finches: National Finch & Softbill report 11 Forthcoming events 26 Health: Pigeon rotavirus A threat 16 International feathered news in brief 4 Japanese shoot snipe in Victoria 21 Parrots: Night parrots found in WA,Qld 18 Parrots: Poached grey parrots do well 17 Parrots: Scaly lorikeets good pets 8-9 Parrots: Sulphurs, rosella poisoned 26 Parrots: What s behind and ahead 6-7 Pelicans breed on inland lake islands 20 Pet birds: Behaviour blindness 15

the blue box Leaney delves into the way those birds must be fed in order to get optimum results, including the importance of good nutrition.

■ LOVELY SCALY: Often forgotten in favour of more upmarket lorikeets, the scaly-breasted is a great little bird.

Joy Pym examines the scaly and its mutations in this edition and concludes that it is a great little lori as an aviary and pet bird.

■ PRETTY PIGEONS: When one thinks of rainbows lorikeets spring to mind and no-one thinks of pigeons but this month fancy pigeon expert Colin Seymour profiles archangel and Nuremburg lark birds, both of which are superbly coloured.

■ BLACK-THROAT VIBE: The black-throated is the most threatened finch in Australia but it has a bad reputation in North Queensland where it is blamed for holding up progress on grazing, residential and industrial developments.

Work is occurring to show that the finch can exist with progress and hopefully all will be well.

This is Australia’s only bird magazine with something for everyone. I hope you enjoy it.

— Lloyd Marshall

DISCLAIMER The publisher of Talking Birds newsmagazine accepts no responsibility for the contents of advertisements submitted for publication by the newsmagazine s clients. It is the advertisers responsibility to ensure that their advertisements are honest and accurate. It is also the advertisers responsibility to ensure that any sales of birds, goods, services and products comply with the relevant legal requirements. Talking Birds and its publisher will not become involved in disputes between advertisers and people who have dealt with advertisers as a result of reading information contained in advertisements in Talking Birds newsmagazine. The publisher of Talking Birds newsmagazine accepts no liability for any dispute resulting from information contained in advertisements published in Talking Birds newsmagazine. The newsmagazine s publisher reserves the right to refuse to publish any advertisement presented for publication. Opinions expressed in editorial material and in advertisements published in Talking Birds newsmagazine are not necessarily those held by the publisher of Talking Birds newsmagazine.

NSW changes look positive

NATIVE animal licensing in NSW is set to change, maybe this year, according to Sam Davis, who is the Canary and Caged Bird Federation of Australia’s vice-president responsible for government liaison.

Mr Davis said nothing is yet set in concrete apart from a few broad parameters.

“Representatives from a range of representative groups met last month at National Parks and Wildlife Service headquarters and it was an extremely positive meeting,” he said.

There will be two separate licensing systems developed — one for birds and another for reptiles, with the bird group scheduled to meet with NPWS on Saturday April 1.

“We want a scheme that will meet our needs, prevent exploitation of wild populations and that will be widely supported by aviculturists,” Mr Davis said.

There will be three broad categories — exempt, code-based and licensed, which roughly mirrors the current exempt, B1 and B2 categories: ● Exempt will not require any registration or paperwork. ● Code-based will require adherence to a code which is being worked on and may or

may not require registration with NPWS. ● Licensed will require records of some sort.

A few proposed condition are: ■ An amnesty for species held but not now in the system.

■ Meshing of the exhibitor licence system under The Exhibited Animals Protection Act 1986.

■ Species can enter the list system via carers. A system for rehabilitated wild animals unsuited to release will enter the system.

■ A take-from-wild process is developed to establish new species in captivity based on a thorough documented plan.

■ The code is to address matters related to preservation of wild populations.

■ Bird species lists for dealers reflect the lists for private keepers.

■ How to prevent unscrupulous online operators.

■ Returns, if required, to be a simple list of species and the number of each species held.

A committee with representatives from aviculture and NPWS will be formed to manage the system.

THE Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning is getting ready to introduce a system which will allow wildlife licence holders to lodge returns online.

Clients of DELWP will be able to update their contact details, report escaped or stolen wildlife, track progress of applications and make inquiries about licences.

The Online Wildlife Licensing System, to be known as OWLS, will send out automatic email reminders for licence returns and expiry.

Clients will be able to check if a party they are dealing with holds a valid Victorian wildlife licence as

well as being able to find out if that person is licenced to hold a particular species. Only licence numbers will be used, with no personal information required or divulged.

A DELWP spokesman said all wildlife licence holders would be provided with information on how to register for the new system before licences are due to be renewed later this year.

Clients can update their details by calling the customer service centre on 136 186 before April 31 this year.

Clients without Internet access will be contacted via Australia Post.

Tas. eagle in Hobart

ODD SPOT

Vic.returns go online

AUSTINS Ferry man Walter Pless didn’t expect to come eye-to-eye with a wedge-tailed eagle in Tasmania but that’s what happened when one landed on his neighbour’s roof.

The bird perched on the roof for 45 minutes and Mr Pless didn’t waste any time, shooting 237 photos of the ‘ bird with a new camera.

The eagle perched high on the hill overlooking Goulds Lagoon, surveying the countryside, Mr Pless said.

“It was about the size of a pelican with a wingspan of over a metre,” he said.

Friends told Mr Pless that the eagle was possibly a juvenile because it was not wary of its surroundings.

Mr Pless had seen eagles in the area before but only high in the sky.

He said he has mixed feelings about the bird returning and was not sure of the consequences if people know he's about.

The bird is an endangered species in Tasmania and powerlines are the main threat to a population of less than 440. Juveniles have a 50 per cent mortality rate.

PHOTO: BOB PHILPOT. COVER: MALE KHAKI/BLUE TWENTY-EIGHT PARROT. SEE: WHAT S BEHIND AND WHAT S AHEAD PAGES 6-7.

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