17 Bird Scene - April & May 2014 by Theparrotsociety

BIRD ISSUE SEVENTEEN: APRIL / MAY 2014

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THE MAGAZINE FOR HOBBYIST BREEDERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS

SECURITY WARNING

THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT

EXHIBITION BIRD THEFTS

LES RANCE GIVES US AN INSIGHT INTO THIS WONDERFUL BIRD

Picture © Mick Freakley

IS S 2N UE D 1 20 JU 8 O 14 LY UT

FR EE

BREEDING THE TWELVE-WIRED BIRD OF PARADISE IN WELTVOGELPARK WALSRODE

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PARROT SOCIETY MAGAZINE: 33

CONTENTS

BIRD SCENE: APRIL / MAY 2014

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO 17TH ISSUE OF BIRD SCENE

BREEDING OF THE TWELVE-WIRED BIRD OF PARADISE IN WELTVOGELPARK WALSRODE GERMANY

EXHIBITION BIRDS BEING TARGETED Security report from John Hayward

THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION 12TH OCTOBER 2014 WITH MINUTES OF ORGANISING COMMITTEE HELD ON 27TH APRIL 2014

THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT A focus on this popular pet bird

DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… CLICK THE LINK BELOW: www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

ON THE COVER

BIRD ISSUE SEVENTEEN: APRIL / MAY 2014

SECURITY WARNING

THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT

EXHIBITION BIRD THEFTS

LES RANCE GIVES US AN INSIGHT INTO THIS WONDERFUL BIRD

Picture © Mick Freakley

BREEDING THE TWELVE-WIRED BIRD OF PARADISE IN WELTVOGELPARK WALSRODE IS SU 2N E D 18 20 JU O 14 LY UT

REDRUMP PARAKEETS A prolific bird admired in UK aviaries and easy to sex

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THE MAGAZINE FOR HOBBYIST BREEDERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS

THE BLUE-MASKED LOVEBIRD details from Keith Jones

BIRD SCENE: Issue Seventeen: April / May 2014 BIRD SCENE is run by The Parrot Society UK, 92A High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 2BL, England. FOR SALES AND EDITORIAL ENQUIRES Telephone or Fax: 01442 872245 Website: www.theparrotsocietyuk.org E-Mail: les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org

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INTRODUCT

Les Rance, Editor, The Parrot Society UK | www.theparrotsocietyuk.org | les.rance@

ird keeping is a relaxing past time, however, for hobbyist breeders that keep their birds in unheated aviaries through the poor weather we have experienced this spring have found this part of bird keeping a worrying time. Those who keep their stock in breeding rooms where they can easily turn up the heating however are in a far more satisfactory position. This is now the seventeenth edition of Bird Scene, how quickly nearly three years can pass when you are working on a project – the first FREE on-line bird magazine produced in the UK. At 48 pages this is quite a big read! Every time we post the Parrot Society magazine I cringe at the cost. Postal costs appear to have increased far faster than inflation and if The Royal Mail are not careful they will find that their income will reduce even further as people and businesses send less and less by conventional means. These costs obviously affect bird clubs when the show schedules have to be posted to potential exhibitors and equally it affects the exhibitors when they return

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their entries. In addition how much longer will bird clubs be able to afford to post magazines to their members? This must be a great worry to many club officials. Fortunately with an e-magazine we do not have this problem, or for that matter the cost of colour printing. As a result of increases to the costs of both postage and printing I am really pleased that we decided to produce Bird Scene as a FREE e-magazine. We have learnt a great deal over the past three years about this way of communicating with bird enthusiasts and I am sure that this knowledge will become more and more valuable as we see further increases in costs to paper magazines. We are always happy to receive articles about the species that are being exhibited at The National and are very pleased to give publicity to the club supplying the information. Regular readers will know that Bird Scene as been produced to publicise The National Exhibition held each year at our October Sale Day/ Show which will be held on Sunday 12th October and to promote our Conservation efforts for threatened

TION

BY THE EDITOR

LES RANCE

@theparrotsocietyuk.org parrots in the wild. An archive of earlier editions of Bird Scene can be found on the Home Page of our website www.theparrotsocietyuk.org so if you would like to see earlier versions please do log on to our site. In this edition we have an excellent article on the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise from Walsrode and an article on African Grey parrots and also one on the beautiful Blue Masked Lovebird by Keith Jones. This item is followed by a report on the security considerations that need to be addressed by enthusiasts maintaining stocks of exhibition birds which seem to be a particular target of thieves. Unfortunately there seems to be a spate of thefts mainly from exhibitors keeping valuable show birds, please see the advice that John Hayward gives on this serious problem. Also in this issue are details relating to The National Exhibition especially the

meeting that was held with the exhibiting clubs which took place at The Quality Hotel, Allesley, Coventry on Sunday 27th April with minutes of this meeting. These annual meetings are so important to ensure the smooth running of the event which started in its present format in 2007 and is going from strength to strength thanks to the support we are receiving from the bird clubs who so vigorously support the Exhibition. It is very pleasing to report that these meetings are still well attended and ensure that we are all ‘up to speed’ on such areas as Show Schedules and Lifting Arrangements that are so important to a successful show.

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BREEDING THE TWELVE-WIRED BIRD OF PARADISE IN WELTVOGELPARK WALSRODE AGE IS NOATCLE!

irds of paradise are among the world’s most known and famous bird species due to the often colourful and very exceptional plumage of the males. The small, up to middle sized passerine birds mostly live in the dense rain forests of New Guinea, but some species can also be found on the Maluku islands and in the northern part of east Australia. Due to its famous inhabitants New Guinea is also called the ‘island of birds of paradise’. The national emblem as well as the flag of the independent state of Papua New Guinea even show a bird of paradise! In total 42 species are recognized in the family ‘Paradisaeidae’ and the majority of the males have iridescent and brightly coloured plumage on their back, breast and tail feathers. During courtship the shining colours and feathers are presented to a female at special ‘leks’, or within the territory of a certain female. Therefore, the males of many species clear the ground or branches from foliage to be able to better draw

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attention to themselves. Most species are polygynous, meaning that a male mates with multiple females, which are rather dully coloured with their brown-yellow plumage to blend in with their habitat. They alone care for the incubation of the eggs and the rearing of the young without the help of the male. From trading expeditions in the early

FEATURE

ARTICLE BY: DIPL.-BIOL. ANNE HOPPMANN HAND-REARING TEAM: VETERINARIAN ANDREAS FREI, BIOLOGIST JAN DAMS, ANIMAL KEEPERS WOLFGANG MAGNUS, JANINA GERBATSCH, SINA EGGERS AND KIM-JANA LANG

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FEATURE

DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… CLICK THE LINK BELOW: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

sixteenth century only the footless and wingless skins were known in Europe. Therefore, the representatives of this bird group were soon called ‘divine birds’ or ‘paradise birds’ as they were thought that they do not need wings at all. The skins led to the belief that the birds never landed on earth before their death but were kept permanently aloft by the plumes. Until the 18th century these stories were still believed to be true due to the lack of information about birds of paradise from the wild. Weltvogelpark Walsrode keeps some species of these famous birds of paradise. One of the larger ones is the twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucidis melanoleuca) which inhabits rain and swampy forests in lowlands of New Guinea and the western Papuan Islands. It feeds on fruits, especially the fruits of the pandanus or sago palm, but nectar, insects, frogs or lizards are also eaten. Twelve-wired birds of paradise can be very acrobatic while feeding – they can even hang upside down from branches to investigate holes in the wood for insects. The males of this species are known for their conspicuous black-olive coloured head and wing plumes as well as their brightly yellow plumes on their breast and flanks. The tail feathers, twelve blackish wire-like filaments, emerge at the rear of the plumage and can be moved independently during courtship. This species is polygynous and in the wild a single male mates with several females. To impress a female, males display on traditional, mostly dead vertical branches freed from leaves which tower above the treetops. These typical branches are even defended from

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other males. Upon arrival of a female, the male moves his wings, the yellow plumes on his flanks, and his the twelve elongated tail feathers while jumping up and down on his branch and singing to impress the female. This species can be seen in a zoological institution in Europe only in Weltvogelpark Walsrode. In the year 2008 Walsrode received a male twelvewired bird of paradise, called ‘Van Dyke’, from Bronx Zoo in New York – nowadays already over 30 years of age! It was believed that this bird can be shown in the exhibition to the visitors but is not for breeding purposes anymore – but all were wrong! Despite the high age of the male, our female laid the first fertilized eggs in 2012, after being relocated to another enclosure in the rainforest hall! Since September 2012, a total of 7 chicks were already successfully hand reared. In the wild, a female builds a shallow

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egg-cup shaped nest of small branches and leaves inside the bulky deep structure of pandanus bark and vines, which is padded with rootlets and plant fibres. It is mostly placed in palm trees up to 14 m above the ground. Normally, one egg, rarely two eggs are laid. After the incubation period of approximately 20 days the chick hatches. Three weeks later the nestling already leaves the nest. Our female made a nest by herself out of coconut fibres, twigs and leaves in her enclosure in our rainforest hall. The pair is housed in a large aviary, but the male was always very interested in the nest and the female, and he destroyed the first eggs that were laid by the female. To make sure that no more eggs of this rarely kept bird species would get lost, all eggs laid by the female were now transferred into an artificial incubator. This way we could secure the eggs and rear 7 young birds successfully! Due to the fact that this species is so rare

FEATURE

in zoological institutions it was very important for us to secure offspring, and (unfortunately) artificial incubation was the best way to do this. The next egg that our female laid was thus transferred to an artificial incubator. The egg was exchanged with a dummy egg, so the female could continue incubation. Meanwhile the real egg was artificially incubated at 37,4 °C and a humidity of 55 % until it hatched. Candling the egg after approximately one week can quickly reveal if the egg is fertilized or not. This procedure was used on all eggs that were laid afterwards. After hatching all nestlings are transferred into the care of the hand rearing keepers, the vet and the biologist of Weltvogelpark. They are placed into a steel bowl padded with paper towels, an anti-slide-mat, coconut fibres or wood wool and housed in a closed and heated rearing machine. On the first day, when the yolk in the

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belly is still being digested, a chick is only provided with a mixture of water and a ringer-lactate-solution. After approximately 35 hours the feeding starts, beginning at half past 5 in the morning until 11 o’clock in the evening. In total the chick is fed 9 – 10 times per day – every two hours, which keeps the keepers very busy! In the beginning in Weltvogelpark the food consisted of the innards of one-day old mice enriched with lactobacilli to support and stimulate the digestion. On the 5th day of age the food is already further enriched with more vitamins and small portions of low-iron pellets, which are especially designed for fruit eaters and contain a high amount of proteins. From day 9 onwards, peeled blueberries are fed as well. The one-day old mice are now fed as a mash. Around the 15th day of age

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the food is expanded with T20 NutriBird Pellets for fruit eaters from Versele Laga: rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals as well. At this moment the eyes of the nestling are already open and the young is very attentive. Shortly afterwards the feathers break open and soon the nestling is entirely fletched. In the whole growth period the temperature in the rearing machine has to match the needs and the growth of the chick. Beginning with 37,2 °C the temperature is slowly regulated downwards and always adjusted to the growth of the young. On day 14 the temperature has been lowered to 35 °C. In contrast to the temperature, the weight of the nestling is of course rising – tiny in the beginning, the chick is already weighing 21,5 g on day 6, 51 g on day 11 and on the 13th day of age it is already

FEATURE weighing 63 g. Shortly before fledging the weight has risen up to 108 g. On the 25 day of age young twelvewired birds of paradise leave the nest, now approximately weighing 119 g. The artificial nest is placed in a rearing box a few days earlier so that the young can become accustomed to the surrounding. The box is only heated by an infrared lamp and is furnished with natural branches and twigs. During the night, it is still placed back into the heated incubator until it fledges. Soon after fledging the chick is already very active and vivid. It is preening itself and closely observing the surrounding. At this stage the young bird needs much more energy than before and thus the amount of food has to be increased and fed to the

young with a tweezer every hour. Additionally, a plate with a mixture of different fruits and T20 pellets from Versele laga is placed into the box so the fledged young gets to know the food. Approximately from day 30 onwards the young can be seen more and more often at the food plate until it feeds actively by itself. In this phase the keepers still provide additional feedings for the young bird with the familiar tweezer. The food is

further enriched with small pieces of ripe mango and papaya. The amount of fruit and fruitpellets are increased, and at the same time the amount of meat is reduced. From day 40 onwards, the now nearly fully grown juvenile bird is transferred into a large aviary, furnished with a variety of natural branches and twigs. It is now feeding by itself from the food plate, is very interested in the water bowl, and takes a daily bath. The new surrounding is being explored very actively. The room temperature is around 23 °C and the juvenile doesn’t need an additional heating lamp anymore. All juveniles are coloured like females in the beginning so they mostly have brownish plumage. Even if the young bird is actually a male, the typical colouration of the plumes of a male is not totally reached before the age of 5 years.

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Weltvogelpark Walsrode is very proud to have successfully reared twelve-wired birds of paradise. But of course we didn’t want to wait as long as five years (!) until the young birds actually show their sex by revealing their adult plumage. Therefore, we tested all juveniles via DNA analysis of a feather sample. As it turns out, we have been very lucky with our chicks – 4 males and 3 females! We are now looking forward to see the young birds grow up and to care for them until they are sexually mature at the age of 4 – 6 years. Literature: • del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds (2009). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14. Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Lynx Edicions. • Tim Laman, Edwin Scholes (2012). Birds of Paradise: Revealing the World’s Most Extraordinary Birds. National Geographic • BirdLife International 2012. Seleucidis melanoleucus. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. www.iucnredlist.org Downloaded on 10 April 2014. 9.

1. 8 day old being fed 2. 13 days old 3. 16 days old 4. 10 days old being fed 5. 19 days old being fed 6. Directly after hatching 7. Egg shell after juvenile hatched 8. 17 days old 9. 28 days old

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G N I N R A W Y T I R SECU S T F E H T D IR B N IO IT EXHIB

uring the last two years there has been an ever developing series of small bird species thefts where thieves are targeting the breeders of quality exhibition Budgerigars, Canaries and Finches. In recent months and weeks the pattern continues with over 40 separate burglaries comprising of hundreds of birds valued at many thousands of pounds. The perpetrators are targeting Counties and areas in turn, mainly in the Midlands and the South. They are getting clean away as there is generally a lack of security or they are by-passing any alarms they come across. They are researching the premises and come equipped to transport the birds away. They are most selective and know the best stock to steal. There have been thefts in Milton Keynes,

Southampton, Woking, Margate and Tonbridge Well. Please bring this on-going series of thefts to your fellow hobbyist bird keeper notice and ask them to be particularly vigilant at this time and report any suspicious incidents to John Hayward on the number below.

John Hayward National Theft Register Tel: 01869 325699 Email: jh@ntr.supanet.com

• SECURITY WARNING • SECURITY WARNING • S

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SECURITY WARNING • SECURITY WARNING • SECURITY WARNING

22nd to 25th SEPTEMBER 2014 TENERIFE SPAIN

19 Speakers - 19 topics

Not to be missed! Dr. Auguste v. Bayern studied biology at the German Ludwig-Maximilans-University in Munich and at the University of Cape Town in South Africa from which she graduated in 2002 with a BSc in Zoology. Since 2008 she has worked as a post-doctoral research associate with Prof. Alex Kacelnik in the Behavioural Ecology Research Group at the University of Oxford. Besides managing the Oxford New Caledonian crow colony and the area of corvid cognition research she also leads the Avian Cognition research team.

“Keynote Speaker”

Topic: Avian Cognition: Innovative problem solving abilities of parrots and corvids Morten Bruun-Rasmussen, Denmark, is educated as an engineer and is running a consultancy company in the field of Medical Informatics and Quality Development. Morten is a private breeder of parrots and has kept parrots since he was a small boy and today has than more than 40 years’ experience in breeding parrots. He has made a lot effort to breed the rare Golden -shouldered Parakeet with an estimated breeding population of less than 2,000 birds in the wild. Topic: What can we learn from scientific studies to improve the breeding of the Golden-shouldered Parakeet? Rudolf Christian, Germany, started breeding pigeons at the age of 9. He has kept this hobby until today. His great passion for parrots set in more than 40 years ago and in 1973 he bought his first parrot. Until his retirement in 2010 he first was head of department in a wholesale electrical supply company and later he worked as a purchasing agent at Konsum. In 1978 he managed to breed the first offspring of his parrots. Approximately 40 aviaries are occupied at the moment.

Image donated by the artist Mrs. Ria Winters

Prof. Rob Heinsohn is a research scientist at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. His 25 year academic career has been marked by long term, and often difficult, field studies of highly social birds and mammals. Since 1997 he has been conducting an ambitious program of field work on three of Australia’s most fascinating animals, the Eclectus parrot, palm cockatoo, and green python of Cape York Peninsula. Topic: Swift Parrot: challenges of conserving a migratory parrot beset by introduced predators

Topic: 40 years of experience in breeding parrots and cockatoos Dr. Carmela P. Española is currently in the faculty of the Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines Diliman. She has been closely involved in wildlife conservation efforts in the Philippines. One of her expeditions resulted in the discovery of the Calayan Rail, a new species of near flightless bird endemic to the island of Calayan in the northernmost tip of the Philippines. She co-founded the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. Topic: Parrots in crisis in Luzon, Philippines Dr. Andrea Fidgett, Zoo Nutritionist, Chester Zoo, UK. She has designed multimedia software for teaching animal taxonomy and diet management software for zoos. Based at Chester Zoo since 2002, Andrea contributes to optimal health and welfare of the animal collection by making their diets better, providing a nutrition service to 400+ species ranging from stick insects to Sumatran tigers, and corals to Asian elephants. Topic: From ingredients to nutrients – a recipe for optimal parrot nutrition

William Horsfield lives on a small farm in Assagay, KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg, which is where both his breeding facility and home is located. William has considerable experience breeding and raising Black Palm Cockatoos and his presentation will be based on his own results along with those from other breeders in South Africa that have since also had success. Topic: An overview of the keeping and breeding of Black Palm Cockatoos in South Africa Prof. Carl Jones has worked in Mauritius since 1979 as a conservation biologist. He is an Honorary Professor of Ecology and Conservation at the University of East Anglia and teaches at the Durrell Conservation Academy. In addition to working on species Carl has been closely involved with the restoration of islands by removing the invasive species and then replacing the missing wildlife. Topic: The restoration of the Echo Parakeet, what lessons have been learnt

Rosemary Low has been passionately involved with parrots. Neotropical parrots and Lories have always been her special interests. As a professional writer, she has had hundreds of articles published in avicultural magazines worldwide. She has travelled widely, speaking at avicultural conventions and meetings in many countries and observing parrots in more than 30 countries. She has been involved in raising funds for many conservation projects, mainly for parrots and habitat in South and Central America. Topic: Lories are my Life! Prof. Dr. Michael Lierz is the Director of the Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish of the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. His scientific work focuses on new pathogens in captive and free-ranging birds as well as assisted reproduction techniques in birds, in particular psittacines. He is the current president of the European Committee of the Association of Avian Veterinarians. He has published more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific papers and made more than 100 presentations at conferences. Topic: Semen collection and artificial insemination – new tools in psittacine breeding and species conservation

Dr. H. Martin Schaefer is an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Freiburg, Germany, broadly interested in understanding the behavior, ecology, and microevolution of birds. Since 2003 he has been leading a research group at the University of Freiburg. Apart from conservation biology his group performs research on the microevolution of blackcaps in response to distinct migratory routes and analyses visual communication in birds and other animals. Topic: Effective protection based on genetic analyses: the El Oro Parakeet as an example Dr. Mark Stafford is the founding director and president of Parrots International, a not for profit organization dedicated to promoting and fostering international cooperation in the conservation of endangered parrot species. Mark and his wife, Marie, have traveled extensively throughout Central and South America, and the Caribbean to gain an understanding of the natural history of endangered parrot species, the environmental and human derived pressures relating to their endangered status. Topic: Loro Parque Fundación and Parrots International: Synergy in saving parrots

Andreas Meyer, Germany, held several pairs of different types of Amazon before he established a breeding community in 1993 with Klaus Schöffler. Over the years, he increased the breeding, and following the Amazons came black and white cockatoos, Keas, grey parrots, macaws, Eclectus parrots, caiques and Pionus. Special attention has been paid to Palm Cockatoos that have been reared successfully for several years.

Prof. Ian Swingland is one of the longest serving Advisors to the President of Loro Parque and Loro Parque Fundación. He published a best-selling book ‘Capturing Carbon and Conserving biodiversity; a market approach’ and advises the World Bank, the Global Environment Facility, the Asian Development Bank, and the UK Government on conservation and biodiversity management, setting up some of the largest projects in the world. Currently he chairs Operation Wallacea and the DICE Trust.

Topic: Practical advice in the keeping and breeding of parrots

Topic: Biodiversity conservation as a business; the key successes of the Loro Parque Fundación

Peter Odekerken, photographer and bird breeder, has been interested in wildlife for nearly 60 years and has first kept finches and then parrots in captivity for most of that time. Peter has photographed numerous bird species for ABK magazines and books—including his own title ‘A Guide to Lories and Lorikeets their Management, Care and Breeding’. Topic: Parrots in the wild, a photographic journey Alonso Quevedo Gil, born in 1968, Medellín – Colombia, is Executive Director of Fundación ProAves. He rediscovered the Endangered Yellow-eared Parrot and Fuertes’s Parrot after an incredible one-and-a-half years of field effort across the Colombian Andes. Alonso helped launch the Yellow-eared Parrot project, one of the most successful single species recovery efforts in the Americas. He is one of the few ornithologists that have described new species of both amphibians and birds for science. Topic: Conservation of the threatened parrots of the Central Andes, Colombia Dr. Franck Rival is an exotic pet veterinarian, who works in Valence in France. He has his independent veterinary practice and has been interested by all aspects of medicine and surgery relative to exotic species, especially birds and reptiles. A national and international speaker on ophthalmology, he is the author of numerous articles, publications, books, videos, CDs and DVDs on exotic pets. Topic: Vision in parrots, ocular examination and most frequent ocular diseases

Ricardo Valentín de la Rosa is a parrot breeder of Rio Abajo aviary, where the captive breeding project of the Puerto Rican parrot of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico is located. As a breeder, Ricardo Valentín has emphasized the participation of all staff in the process of collecting and analyzing data and in the process of making management decisions. He has stimulated collection of scientific research data by employees of the aviary. Under his management the production of captive birds in the aviary has increased from 13 to 50 parrots per year. Topic: Key factors in successful reproduction in captivity of the Puerto Rican parrot, Amazona vittata Rafael Zamora, specialised in Zoology, and as ornithologist and assistant curator of Loro Parque Fundación, he acts as consultant to a various international breeding projects for endangered species of birds. He is the author of various scripts for wildlife documentaries and frequently takes part in environmental programmes for national radio and television. He also regularly contributes scientific articles to wildlife and specialist avicultural magazines. Topic: Nests: designs, materials, systems, species, timing The contact information for the two UK representatives are Tony Pittman 01323 843748 or 07802 304989 (mob) and e-mail tonypittman@btinternet.com. John Wragg 01670 822789 or 07949447282 (mob) and e-mail parrotjohn1@btinternet.com

www.loroparque-fundacion.org/congreso congreso2014@loroparque.com Avda. Loro Parque, s/n · 38400 Puerto de la Cruz · Tenerife · Spain Tel.: +34 922 373 841 · Fax: +34 922 375 021

THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION

12TH OCTOBER 2014

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he Parrot Society can only thank the bird club officials that have all worked so hard to increase the number of exhibits year on year and made this exhibition the success it has become. We were pleased to announce last year that the Norwich Canary Club had joined our ranks and were exhibiting their member’s birds I understand they experienced a very successful show and are looking forward to this year’s event. Seven years ago The Parrot Society started out on a venture of hopefully rebuilding “The National Exhibition” that had been run up until 2003 at the Birmingham NEC. The defining factor was whether it was possible for all branches of our hobby to jointly pull together and ‘make it work’ after recording such a success in the first year the question was then whether the enthusiasm would be sustained. It has indeed worked each year since the first Show in 2007 the numbers of exhibits have increased and we are working hard to ensure that even more varieties of exhibition quality canaries are on the show bench for the 2014 event. By combining this exhibition with the already highly successful Parrot Society October Sale Day at the superbly equipped Staffordshire County Showground a large proportion of the exhibitors were familiar with both the location and the available facilities. UK

ARTICLE BY: LES RANCE

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bird exhibitors now view this event as the premier ‘all variety show’ on the UK calendar. We are delighted that the exhibition is obtaining increasing support from both continental judges and breeders who travel long distances to attend this event it is exciting to think that in a very short time this exhibition has been able to attract these dedicated fanciers from all over Europe. The continental influence is not only limited to the fanciers, there is an increasing demand from continental traders to attend this event, further increasing the range of products available to all our enthusiastic visitors. As it is located only a few miles to the east of junction 14 of the M6 vehicles can quickly arrive at the Showground.

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Arrangements are well in hand for the next Show on Sunday 12th October 2014. A meeting with representatives of all the supporting clubs was held at The Quality Hotel Coventry on Sunday 27th April. Each time we organise this Show we aim to improve both the exhibitor experience and that of the viewing public and the points discussed at this meeting prove invaluable in ensuring improvements continue to achieve these goals. The minutes of the meeting are printed at the end of this article. “The National Exhibition” has been kindly sponsored once again by Richard Johnston of Johnston and Jeff and Malcolm Green of The Birdcare Company, who have both supported us from the start. This year their generous

FEATURE

sponsorship has also financed additional new staging as exhibits are set to increase and the added attraction of supplements and bird seed as prizes can only help increase the numbers benched. We are indebted to the management and editorial staff of Cage & Aviary Birds magazine for the production of a very well designed insert, with our contribution being the collation of the information from all the exhibiting clubs. The supplement will appear in their 2nd September 2014 edition and will as previously carry advertisements from all the exhibiting clubs and details as to who to approach to obtain the Show Schedule for your chosen species. This supplement has now become a feature of “The National Exhibition”.

Some of the delegates at the Coventry meeting on 27th April completing their club entry for the supplement in Cage & Aviary Birds. Since the show took on the name “The National Exhibition” in 2010 the demand for trade space has significantly increased, with some new traders making their first appearance this

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year. So whatever your bird keeping requirements they will be on offer at Stafford on 12th October. The Sandylands Centre and half of the Argyle Centre will again be used to accommodate the exhibits with the ‘booking in’ and club stands filling the remainder of the Argyle Centre. This facilitates the management of the exhibition during the judging of the birds and allows both exhibitors and general visitor’s access to the exhibition at the earliest possible time on the day. The Parrot Society Council members hope that all the exhibitors and the officials of the specialist exhibiting clubs have a very enjoyable day. The Parrot Society would like to thank the clubs for all the kind words and support that you have given us. It will make the organisation of this year’s “National Exhibition” a pleasure to be involved with.

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MINUTES

Minutes of meeting held at Coventry on 27th April for The National Exhibition 1. Welcome – The Chairman said that a Get Well Soon card, on behalf of all those attending, will be sent to Allen King. Allen broke his leg prior to the start of the meeting. 2. The 2013 National Exhibition was reviewed. It was agreed that staging would be labelled as in previous years. As the Fife canary section has the largest entry it was agreed to reallocate their position to the other end of the booking in tables so that they were away from the Gloster canaries. All those attending agreed with this change. 3. Sponsorship arrangements for 2014 – The Chairman told the meeting that although arrangements have not been agreed with Johnston & Jeff and The Birdcare Company it was envisaged that the same support would be received as in previous years. 4. Checking In facilities – Booking in tables will again be lined up in front of the Show staging and the cattle barriers. Security is paramount at this event and we do not want exhibitors walking around the staging when birds are staged.

FEATURE

We do not see any need for anyone other than Club and Show Officials to be in the show area of the halls until after completion of judging and the show is open to the general public at 12.30pm on Sunday. All those attending agreed with this arrangement. 5. In 2013 early visitors were using the Argyle Centre to gain free entry into our Sale Day which necessitated security staff manning the door between Argyle Centre and Prestwood Centre which was an additional cost to the Society. Exhibitors MUST wear wrist bands when they enter Sandylands and Argyle Centres on Sunday morning to book in their birds. Then only security would be needed on the doors into Sandylands and Argyle Centres. It was pointed out to delegates that early entry wrist bands are supplied to clubs which should form part of their entry form conditions. No person will be allowed to enter the show halls on Sunday morning without a wristband. All clubs supported this suggestion. 6. Erection of staging from 12.00 on Saturday 11th October. 7. The Parrot Society will again supply

free tea, coffee and biscuits in the Argyle Centre when birds are being checked in on the Sunday. Kettles will still be available in the Argyle hall during the period of judging, but Clubs were advised to bring their own cups, tea, coffee etc, to ensure supplies do not run out. 8. As we are now supplying Early Entry wristbands to all Exhibitors it seems unnecessary to block access to the P.S. Selling Area between Prestwood and Argyle Centres. Please do all that you can to encourage people exhibiting with your club to purchase the entry wrist bands at £8.00 each when they send in their entry forms. 9. Lifting arrangements After considerable discussion it was agreed to use the ‘Yellow Notification Forms’ that will be taken to the National Co-ordinators desk in the Argyle Centre by each Show secretary when he is satisfied that all his exhibitors have claimed their birds. Once all the ‘Yellow Notification Forms’ have been received by the National Coordinator he will give instructions for the doors to be opened. Lifting time will be 3.30 pm. All those attending agreed with this arrangement. Meeting closed at 3.50 pm

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P.S. MEMBER DAYS

ARTICLE BY: LES RANCE

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THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT A

frican grey parrots in the wild occupy a vast area covering many countries they are found throughout equatorial Africa, southeastern Ivory Coast, east to western Kenya to south and north Angola, east to the southern regions of the Congo and north-western Tanzania. With such a large range there is obviously local variation in both the size and greyness of the birds those from the Congo generally being the largest. In 2006 the European Community banned the import of wild caught greys into the member counties but greys are still being caught in the wild and sent to other areas of the world where counties still accept them. There is obvious concern for their long term survival in the wild if greys continue to be taken. In aviculture these birds are becoming more common in bird collections because they are fairly easy to breed and are

not that demanding in terms of aviaries although they will very quickly destroy wooden aviaries as they have strong beaks and take great delight in using them as I know only too well, I have one particular pair that seem worse or perhaps more experienced than my other birds at destroying their home. With regard to breeding they will go to nest at almost any time of the year and it is not unheard of that breeders will have young in the box during our winter fortunately hen greys and the cocks spend a great deal of their time in the nest box and obviously brood and keep warm the youngsters even during the coldest weather. My birds enjoy germinated seeds, currently I am germinating safflower, medium sunflower and mung beans all in separate bowls as I like to just chit the sunflower and the safflower but find that the birds do like the shoots longer on the mung beans. I am sure

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DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… CLICK THE LINK BELOW: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

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FEATURE

that this germinated seed is much better for the greys as it reduces the fat content especially in the sunflower seed and increases the vitamin within the seed. My birds also receive on a daily basis egg food which I make myself. I was talking to a canary breeder recently and when I told him that I hard boil my eggs for 6 minutes he informed me that I should be boiling them for 11 minutes to ensure that if there is any salmonella in the egg the longer time will kill it, hence an instant change to the recipe!! Grey parrots do not have a very loud call certainly not compared to Amazons in fact they have a very pleasant call and with often a few human words included. Their tendency to spend long periods in the nest box means that often you cannot see them so from a display angle they are possibly not the best if you like to constantly see your feathered friends. However they do make a welcome addition to any collection.

…I told him that I hard boil my eggs for 6 minutes he informed me that I should be boiling them for 11 minutes to ensure that if there is any salmonella in the egg the longer time will kill it… BIRD SCENE 33

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14/04/2014 10:56

PARROT SOCIETY

SALE DAYS IN 2014 SUMMER SHOW: ALL 6th P.S. MEMBERS SUNDAY July 2014

S ATE L ENTER OUR SHOWS EARLY. L OF D ION

‘HELP BIRD KEEPERS SHOW’: SUNDAY 30th November 2014

EE F

AT O US NATIONAL ALL SHOWS EXHIBITION: IN 2013 WILL BE HELD AT STAFFORD COUNTY SHOWGROUND 0BD IFIC ST18 T O IL Y INE T N SUNDAY 12th October 2014 N A U Z T GA OK US IS J OT BO THE MA S I TH E DO N S IN AS AIL PLE DET

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ALL MEMBERS ENTER OUR SHOWS EARLY

BLUE MASKED LOVEBIRD SCIENTIFIC NAME: AGAPORNIS PERSONATA FAMILY: PSITTACIDAE / FORDER: PSITTACIFORMES FCLASS: AVES Habitat: Masked Lovebirds in the wild are found in a relatively small area in the northeastern territory of Tanzania bounded to the North by Lake Manyara in the Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara is situated south-west of Lake Victoria and the Serengeti National Park in the Great Rift Valley. Masked lovebirds will be found on the high inland plateau, a grassland wooded with acacia trees and feeding on shrubs, mainly grass type seeds and cereal crops if they are in the vicinity. History: This species was first discovered in 1877 shortly after the Fischers Lovebird. Both were named by the German ornithologist and explorer Anton Reichenow. They were first imported into the UK in 1925 and in one of these early imports of wild birds was a single Blue Masked mutation. The first photograph of a Blue masked appeared in the February 1928 issue of the Avicultural Magazine.

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The bird was sent to London Zoo where it was later found to be a cock. It is reported that the original importer of this bird was a Mr. Chapman. In 1932 three aviculturists in California, USA, were surprised by an explosion of Blue chicks in nests of Masked Lovebirds that were thought to be Normal Greens.

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Physical Appearance: Masked Lovebirds and the other eight Agapornis species are considered to be the smallest of the parrots and no separate sub-species of the Masked Lovebird are recognised. They are stocky birds and grow to about fifteen centimetres long. Lovebirds have a larger hooked upper mandible or beak that is hinged to the skull, and a reversible fourth toe. Their natural calls are sharp and loud, but their thick fleshy tongues and voice apparatus allow a wide range of sounds, including imitation of the human voice. The Blue-masked lovebird is the only naturally occurring mutation in the wild. Its main plumage colour is sky blue with a white collar about fifteen millimetres wide around the neck, widening across the breast where it merges with the main body colour of blue. The overall head colour, including lores and cheeks, is sooty black. Another identifiable characteristic of this species is a white featherless ring that encircles both eyes making it also one of the four Eye-ring species of Lovebirds. Juveniles are identical to the adults but their colours are not so bright until after the first moult. Feeding: In the wild they are mainly grass seed eaters but will also raid and devour

cereal crops grown in the near vicinity. I have found in captivity they will readily eat a commercial lovebird seed mixture which can be supplemented by wild grass seeds when available. If hung in the aviary in bunches they will soon make short work of these wild seeds. Millet sprays are a favourite of Masked lovebirds and more sprays should be added when young are in the nest. Cuttlefish bone should always be available to provide calcium for good hard shelled eggs. Too much sunflower seed however will make the birds fat. Breeding: In my experience Masked Lovebirds are the hardiest of all the species of Lovebirds available to UK breeders. If their aviary is sheltered on three sides and roof covered, along with a nest box to roost in they can withstand the bleakest of winters in the UK and I have personally rung chicks on Christmas Day with 15cms of snow on the aviary roof. Although Masked Lovebirds are colony breeders in the wild they can be the most vicious towards others if the aviary is allowed to get over-populated. Youngsters should be moved away from their parents as soon as possible after weaning, and each nest of youngsters should be caged separately in order to avoid fighting between the families, even at this early age.

Lovebirds have a larger hooked upper mandible or beak that is hinged to the skull, and a reversible fourth toe. Their natural calls are sharp and loud, but their thick fleshy tongues and voice apparatus allow a wide range of sounds, including imitation of the human voice.

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DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… CLICK THE LINK BELOW: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

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SPECIAL R FFE ENTRY O Sunday y 18th Ma

SPECIA ENTRY O L FFE Sunday R 18th Ma y

FLAMINGO LAND I

PARROT SOCIETY AWAY DAY

am sure that many of our members in the North-east are well aware of the facilities available at Flamingo Land which is located a few minutes away from the village of Kirby Misperton. On Sunday 18th May members of the Society can enter for £17.50 each, children under 3 are free. Please show your Parrot Society envelope when purchasing your tickets. The management of Flamingo Land have also kindly loaned us the use of their Education Centre where Eric Morfitt the

VI DE S ER HO O T IC W O B MO N B E RF Y IT T

Hull Area Organiser will be pleased to see you. This is a very generous offer and the Council of the Society are very appreciative of this facility. Where to find us: Flamingo Land is located in Kirby Misperton, near Malton in North Yorkshire. YO17 6UX. BY CAR From the A64, Flamingo Land is situated off the A169 Malton to Pickering Road. BY TRAIN Our local train station is at Malton - for further details please call 08457 484950 BY BUS The National Express drops off at York (tel 08705 808080) and from York. Or you can catch the Yorkshire Coastliner (tel 01653 692 556 or 0113 244 8976) from York railway station, which drops off at Flamingo Land.

TROPICAL BIRDLAND T U O Y Y A A D M H T 25

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REDRUMPS (PSEPHOTUS HAEMATONOTUS)

hese delightful Australian parakeets are very popular aviary birds and are one of the species that I recommend to new breeders as they are relatively easy to house and care for and they usually reward their owners with at least one brood of babies each year. In common with the majority of Australian parakeets they are not noisy which is of great importance if your neighbours are close to your property, they do not chew aviaries, are good breeders and are reasonably priced. An aviary about 10 feet long is sufficient to allow them to fly. In addition the babies are easy to sex as the young cocks show some red feathers on the rump whilst still in the nest box and the parents are usually tolerant to nest inspections on a regular basis. Youngsters from the first round are in full colour by the autumn at which time they should be removed from their parents. A good parakeet mixture with fruit and vegetables is an excellent basic diet, water should be changes daily and cuttlefish bone provided. During the winter they can be kept with other parakeets but ensure there are no nest boxes in the flight. Redrumps come into breeding condition in February or March when they need to be transferred to a separate flight for each pair to breed.

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Nest boxes should not be provided before the end of March as some hens can be susceptible to egg binding if they breed when night temperatures fall below freezing. Redrumps are easy to care for and have a pleasant call, they make few demands but proper hygiene especially of the aviary floor where they spend a considerable amount of the day looking for food is most important. As with all the parakeets their eggs are white and Redrumps lay every other day, a clutch will commonly contain between four and six eggs. Redrumps, like many parakeets, usually commence incubation before the full clutch is laid and therefore the chicks hatch on different days which means that there can be a considerable variation in the size of the chicks and it is amazing that the hen manages to care so well for the smallest youngster. Initially the hen does all the feeding, receiving partially digested seeds and soft food from the cock, however as the youngsters grow and require more food the cock will feed the youngsters as they can cope with the harder seeds. Redrumps make good foster parents and will rear Bourkes, Eastern Rosellas, Mealy Rosellas and Stanley Rosellas if the

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need arises, either eggs or youngsters as long as they are of similar size to their own babies. Colour mutations of the Redrump are quite common; yellow, blue, lutino and opaline are just a few. The breeding of colour mutations is an area that interests a considerable number of enthusiasts and a great deal of knowledge has been built up on this aspect of hobbyist bird breeding and books specialising in this are available. In fact at the current time there are more mutation Redrumps available than there are the normals that are shown in the accompanying centre page spread. Redrumps even during the breeding season can be housed with finches, java sparrows, doves and canaries as they do not see these species as a threat and therefore do not fight with them. However, it is not recommended to keep Redrumps with other parakeets as there will be fighting that will cause death. Parakeets also tend to chew any plants that grow in their aviary so it is impossible to maintain plants in a parakeet aviary. I have experimented with container grown willow, vibernum and hazel but you require a large number of them so that they can be changed at regular intervals before too much damage is inflicted. Redrumps were the first parakeets that I bred and have a special position in my affection, I can certainly recommend them.

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DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… CLICK THE LINK BELOW: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

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