38 Bird Scene - Spring 2018 by Theparrotsociety

BIRD ISSUE THIRTY EIGHT: SPRING 2018

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THE MAGAZINE FOR HOBBYIST BREEDERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS

M E 1S R E T D 20 JU ITI 18 NE ON

THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION 7TH OCTOBER 2018

LESSER VASA PARROTS

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LORO PARQUE FOLLOWS CLOSELY THE GROWTH OF TWO SCARLET IBIS CHICKS

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CONTENTS BIRD SCENE: SPRING 2018

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

06 38

LESSER VASA PARROTS PART ONE 38 Anton Schreuders

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THE MAGAZINE FOR HOBBYIST BREEDERS AND CONSERVATIONISTS

LORO PARQUE FOLLOWS CLOSELY THE GROWTH OF TWO SCARLET IBIS CHICKS LESSER VASA PARROTS

THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION 7TH OCTOBER 2018

24 T

A MILLENNIUM TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE PART TWO John Mollindinia

BIRD ISSUE THIRTY EIGHT: SPRING 2018

ON THE COVER

SCARLET IBIS CHICKS Loro Parque

ED T 20 JU ITIO 18 NE N

M ER 1S

ZEBRA FINCHES PART TWO Ken Lockwood and Gerald Massey

THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION REPORT Les Rance

BIRD SCENE: Issue Thirty Eight: Spring 2018 BIRD SCENE is run by The Parrot Society UK, Hardy House, Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted HP4 1EF, England. FOR SALES AND EDITORIAL ENQUIRES Telephone or Fax: 01442 872245 Website: www.theparrotsocietyuk.org / E-Mail: les.rance@theparrotsocietyuk.org The views expressed by contributors to this magazine are not those of The Parrot Society UK unless otherwise explicitly stated

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INTRODUCT

Les Rance, Editor, The Parrot Society UK | www.theparrotsocietyuk.org | les.rance@ This time last year we were busy trying to obtain information relating to the up-listing of African Grey parrots that had been added to Annex ‘A’ of CITES and we were advising people on what is required from DEFRA to ensure that all Greys that are sold have the correct Article 10 papers. If you are thinking of buying an African Grey you must ensure it comes with the yellow CITES documentation, it is an offence to buy a Grey if it is not correctly licenced. We are still experiencing Avian Flu and the whole country is classified as a Protection zone, but fortunately this is not affecting Sales Days of hobbyist breeding stock. It seems that chickens, ducks, geese and swans are the birds most at risk from contracting Avian Flu. What is starting to interest us is the affects that Brexit will have on bird keepers and the possibility that quarantine will be re-imposed on birds coming from mainland Europe. This would make quite a difference for companies who import birds for the pet industry as at the present time, as far as I am aware, there are no functioning quarantine stations for birds in the UK. 04

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These facilities can be quite expensive to both build and maintain and therefore anyone thinking of building one will obviously think very carefully before they go down that route. This may well mean a dire shortage of stock for the pet trade. Bird keeping is a relaxing past-time, however, for hobbyist breeders that keep their birds in unheated aviaries through the poor weather experienced this winter it can also be a worrying time, let us hope that we do not experience a cold period that lasts into spring. Those who keep their stock in breeding rooms where they can easily turn up the heating however are in a far more satisfactory position. In this edition of Bird Scene we are very pleased to have the second part of ‘A Millennium Trip Down Memory Lane’ by the Late John Mollindinia. Also an interesting article from Loro Parque on the two Scarlet Ibis chicks that they have bred. These is also part 2 of a very interesting article on Zebra Finches by Ken Lockwood and Gerald Massey. This is now the thirty eighth edition of Bird Scene, how quickly seven years

TION

BY THE EDITOR

LES RANCE

@theparrotsocietyuk.org 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. With CPI inflation now running at 2.9% costs continue to rise faster than wages. 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 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 seven 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 at Stafford County Showground which will be held on Sunday 7th October 2018 and to promote our Conservation efforts for threatened 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.

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THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION 7TH OCTOBER 2018 BY LES RANCE

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 are pleased that the Norwich Canary Club and the London Fancy Canary Club, two of our newer recruits are settling in very well and are both enjoying being part of the National Exhibition. It is now eleven years ago that The Parrot Society started out on a venture of hopefully rebuilding “The National Exhibition” which had been run 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

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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 2018 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 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 fairly short time this exhibition has been able to attract these dedicated

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…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…

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L A N O I T A TION N E TH XHIBIBER 2018 E H OCTO 7T

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

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the M6 vehicles can quickly arrive at the Showground. Arrangements are well in hand for the next Show on Sunday 7th October 2018. A meeting with representatives of all the supporting clubs will be held at The Quality Hotel Coventry on Sunday 13th May. Each time we organise this Show we

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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. Due to the need to cater for the ever increasing numbers of exhibits last year we ordered another three blocks of

staging which was supplied by Ray Howells of Birds and Things. In order to store this additional staging we also purchased a 40’ long storage container that is located at Stafford County Showground. “The National Exhibition” will be again sponsored by Richard Johnston of Johnston and Jeff who is our sponsor and has supported us from the start. This year their generous sponsorship has also financed a new large billboard promoting The Parrot Society which is located in Bingley Hall, Stafford County Showground. As exhibits are set to increase and the added attraction of bird seed generously donated by Johnston & Jeff 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 hopefully be spread over a number of editions to ensure that the event obtains maximum publicity in this excellent publication, it 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”.

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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 year. So whatever your bird keeping requirements they will be on offer at Stafford on 7th October. The Sandylands Centre and half of the

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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.

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DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND… The Parrot Society Council members hope that all the exhibitors and the officials of the specialist exhibiting clubs have a very enjoyable day and we 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.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php

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O W T T R PA

ZEBRA FINCHES

BY KEN LOCKWOOD AND GERALD MASSEY

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FEATURE

Nests for Zebra Finches In the wild, where zebra finches breed in small colonies, both the cock and the hen help to build the nest. After a short ceremony, which includes a dance of courtship, the cock collects the material and the hen forms it into a nest. The typical nest is spherical with a very small entrance hole and is located in dense, thorny bushes. Obviously it is difficult to simulate this form of nest when cage breeding as we usually provide only one nest and offer no choice of the breeding pair. However, we are fortunate that zebra finches can be very accommodating in this respect. Aviary breeding gives more scope for zebra finches to behave as though they are in the wild. They can search for a nesting site, perform a mating ceremony and get on with nest building. By providing two nest-boxes for every pair, it is possible to ensure that there is little aggression. The nest boxes should be spaced as far apart as is practicable and, although they can be fixed at different heights, they should

never be placed one above another. When cage breeding, the nest-box should be half filled with nesting material (we use hay) pushed into a rough nest shape. Before doing this the interior of the box should be treated with an antimite powder or liquid. We then place nesting material - such as coconut fibre on the cage floor for the birds to complete the nests. Moss is also a good nesting material but avoid synthetics, such as carpet fibres. These can get tangled around the birds’ legs and damage them. This year for the first time, Gerald’s wife has used soft white feathers, out of a discarded duvet, as nesting material for her foreign birds. The zebra finches were also given a small quantity and their nests were soon white feather lined. One disadvantage is that with a white nest it is not so easy to see the eggs. Once a nest has been built, all remaining nesting material should be removed from the cage – and that includes millet sprays and green food. We have seen a cock zebra finch fly up to a

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nest-box, 6ft (1.8m) above him, carrying a millet spray. We have also seen one cover his partner’s eggs with a lettuce leaf. If there is any material what so ever, they might build a second nest on top of the first clutch of eggs – and then a third on top of the second clutch – and so on, with no eggs being incubated. Interestingly, when zebra finches are colony breeding in aviaries, this sandwich nesting is not a problem – probably because the birds have more choice and the conditions are more natural. Nestboxes for cage breeding are traditionally made of wood. A typical box takes the form of a 6in (15cm) cube with a 2½ to 3in (6.3 to 7.5cm) high aperture across the top of the front face. The lid must be either hinged or removable to permit inspections and afford access to eggs and chicks. Some breeders believe it is important to have ventilation holes in the bottom of the box to permit air to circulate and to help control humidity. This aspect of nest-box design has never worried us unduly – though we would consider it to be much more important if the box was made of plastic. The nest-box can be fitted either on the inside or the outside of the breeding cage. This is a matter of choice that can be influenced by the sizes of cages and the bird room itself. If the breeding cages are small, the box may take up too much space. In a small bird room, outside mounted nestboxes could be in danger of being

14 BIRD SCENE

dislodged by the breeder as he or she moves around the room. We, as partners, take a different view on nest-box locations. Gerald prefers nest-boxes on the outside, while Ken puts his inside the cages. Our birds breed equally well with either arrangement. With the box on the outside the entrance aperture automatically faces the rear wall of the cage, but an interior nest-box can face in any direction. Ken positions his boxes so that the aperture faces the sides of the cages. If ever Gerald uses an inside box he faces it towards the back wall. One thing we both agree on is that it is not good practice to have the nest-box entrance facing the cage front so that the occupants can see every movement in the bird room. This can cause the birds to leave their nests. A disturbed hen has been known to panic and leave the box, without realising that she has a chick under her wing – which then drops to the cage floor and dies. Most of our birds accept the position of the nest-boxes we choose. However, occasionally, they decide that they would refer to build their nest elsewhere – usually in the corner of the cage or on top of the nest-box. If it is the former, the solution is to place the nest-box in the corner of the cage that the birds have chosen. If the latter, taking the lid off the box usually persuades them to nest inside it. The claws of breeding birds should be checked to make sure that they

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are not too long. Overgrown claws can drag nesting material from the nest – and chicks along with it. We both inspect our nest-boxes regularly to make sure that all is well, but we stop looking once youngsters have been close rung – and certainly before they are 12 days old. This is to avoid chicks leaving the nest before they are mature enough to do so safely. It is normal for strong, feathered, healthy zebra finch chicks to leave the nest-box and return. Eventually, when they are fully fledged they leave for good. If a hen wants to get on with the next clutch of eggs before the chicks have left the nestbox, we either remove the eggs and foster them to another pair or add an extra nest-box so that the hen and her eggs

Cardboard nest box attached to a breeding cage’

can be in one while the chicks are in the other. You may see the parents start to pluck the feathers out of their youngsters. Primarily, this is to drive them away from the nest, but also can have a secondary purpose – to gather feathers for nesting material. For the past few years we have both used cardboard nest-boxes. In our opinion, these are the finest addition to the range of zebra finch breeding equipment in the recent past. We can list

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the advantages – they are relatively cheap; they are supplied as flat packs and are easy to unfold and make into boxes; at the end of a breeding round they can be thrown away; you do not have to wash and disinfect them (as you do with wooden boxes); they come with breeding record cards printed on their sides and they do not take up a lot of storage space in the bird room for 6 months every year. The only disadvantage we have found is that the hole used to hang them up can wear. To counteract this, we fix them with screws that have large heads. If nails are used for hanging the cardboard nestboxes they need to be set at an angle of 45 degrees so that the boxes slide down them and stay firmly in place.

Pack of cardboard nest boxes

We will now list other zebra finch nestbox types that we have seen. A fairly common one is the enclosed wicker basket with a small entrance hole. Although these go some way toward replicating wild-type nests and can look quite attractive when colony breeding in an aviary, they are no use at all for cage

16 BIRD SCENE

breeding as you cannot make inspections or get at the chicks to ring them. Among the more unusual nest-boxes we have seen are empty plastic margarine tubs. We once went to an aviary where these were being used to breed zebra finches, canaries and foreign finches all in the same flight. The whole set-up was crude – and, at first sight, unsuitable – but there were eggs and chicks everywhere. We have seen homemade cardboard nest-boxes constructed from egg food cartons. When Gerald visited Australia he found many bird rooms, and most of the equipment, was made out of metal. This is because termites eat anything made from wood. One breeder went one step further and used cans that had contained tinned fruit as nesting appliances for his zebra finches. They appeared to work well. Finally, and also in Australia, one breeder used blocks of foam rubber, 3in (7.5cm) thick and 6in (15cm) square, with a concave hollowed out in the top surface, placed inside conventional nest-boxes. No other nesting material whatsoever was made available to the birds. At the end of a breeding round, the foam was washed, disinfected and hung out to dry. Once again, it is easy to imagine conventionalists saying that such an arrangement is unsuitable for breeding zebra finches – but the breeder supplied his own answer. He was breeding zebra finches by the dozen.

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The Start of the Zebra Finch Breeding Season Some keen zebra finch fanciers will have started their breeding seasons early in the year. However, many others – particularly those without electric lighting and heating in their bird rooms – will be pairing up their birds by the end of March / beginning of April. Any breeding season has its share of disappointments – and most have some successes. The starting point to any successful breeding season is the laying of eggs. Zebras get off the mark quite quickly and some hens lay their first egg within four days of being paired. We would normally expect eggs to appear between four and seven days. There is no need to be too hasty if a hen does not lay within that time scale.

We leave a non laying pair for three weeks before taking any action. If neither of the partners is showing any interest, we transfer both birds into flights or flight cages with groups of birds of their own sex. They stay there for two or three weeks before being reconsidered for pairing. If both birds appear to be breeding fit but just not compatible – perhaps with one spending most of its time on the perch while the other is on the floor of the cage – we would consider finding new mates for both cock and hen without them going through the rest period. Zebra finches are generally peaceful and friendly birds and only on very rare occasions do they attack their mates. However, you still need to be vigilant when putting two birds of the

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opposite sex together – until you are sure they have settled down. That is doubly so in the case when a change of breeding partner is involved. If the cock is observed treading the hen – but no eggs appear – the hen must be the suspect member of the partnership. If, on the other hand, eggs are laid but turn out to be infertile, there is a strong possibility that it is the cock that needs to be replaced. Zebra Finches mating

18 BIRD SCENE

Our normal system of nest-box inspecting is to check the boxes every other day until the first egg is due to hatch and from that date – whether an egg has hatched or not – inspections are made every day. Once an egg is seen in a nestbox the bird room calendar is marked with the cage number, at 14 days later. This is by no means an exact measure, as, although the standard incubation period for a zebra finch egg is accepted as being 14 days, we have known some to hatch at 13 days. It is also true that not all hens start incubating until more than one egg has been laid. Then, the apparent incubation period of the first egg is longer than 14 days. If the hen lays just one egg and others do not appear at the expected times, the egg is removed after two or three days so that the hen can get on with laying, hopefully, a full clutch. Eggs are examined to check if they are fertile six days before they are due to hatch. Once incubation is well under way, the experienced eye can see whether an egg is clear without the need to handle it. The less experienced may need to hold the egg up to the light. If the egg appears to be solid, almost pebble like, it is fertile. If a fertile egg has been incubated for at least four days you will see signs of the developing chick. The blood circulation system is particularly obvious in the form of red veins. If light passes through an incubated egg so that only the yellow yolk can be seen, there is

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every chance that it is infertile – though remember, some hens do not begin incubating until they have laid two or three eggs. If in doubt, leave making any decision about apparently clear eggs for another couple of days and check again. To some extent, the action taken when a clutch of eggs is found to be infertile is influenced by the state of affairs in other parts of the bird room. If, for instance, a very good pair has ten eggs then half of

these will be placed under the hen that has laid the clear round. If there is no immediate need for fostering, the clear eggs can be removed to encourage the hen to lay again. Fourteen days after the first egg was laid, we feed soft food to the pair concerned, even if an egg has not hatched. From that point, soft food is offered once a day. We feed it fairly dry, just dampened with a little water, and so there is not much risk that it will go sour.

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If there were such a risk the daily supply of soft food would be fed in two stages. We used to feed bread and milk as soft food, but cages, nest-boxes and the birds themselves became very messy. Although bread and milk is a good rearing food, it is not as good as many of the scientifically developed proprietary egg foods that are currently available. Occasionally, a chick starts to chip its way out of the shell but then ceases to make progress. In such instances, we keep a close eye on the situation and if we believe there is a risk that the chick will die unless given some assistance, we chip the shell very gently until the crack

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is just more than half way round – just to the point where one half of the shell will hinge from the other. After that, nature is left to take its course. Under no circumstances should the chick be ‘helped’ from the shell. If it is to survive it needs to escape without further assistance. When there are Zebra Finch Chicks in the Nest It is not easy to predict exactly when a particular zebra finch egg will hatch – even though the accepted incubation period is 14 days. Occasionally an egg will hatch 13 days after it was first seen but it is when a hen begins incubating that is the main determining factor. Some hens begin sitting as soon as they

FEATURE lay the first egg. Then you can expect chicks to hatch on consecutive days. Other hens delay the start of incubation until they have laid several eggs and then three, four or five chicks can appear on the same days. When six eggs hatch over a period of six days, the last chick to hatch is inevitably much smaller than the first. This brings the risk of the youngest being squashed or neglected and so we try to find a foster nest that contains chicks closer to its own size. When choosing a foster nest, it is best to select one in which the parents own chicks will be of a different colour or variety. This makes it easier to maintain accurate records. At one time we experimented with removing eggs as they were laid and returning them when there was a full clutch – much as many canary breeders do. Eventually we decided that the extra work this involved and the risk of damaging eggs when handling them outweighed any advantages. We also resort to fostering when there is only one chick in the nest. You might expect a single chick to be well fed because it receives all of the hens attention – but this is rarely the case. Some under occupied hens get bored and neglect their duties. Others are so keen to get on with the next breeding round that the lone chick is seen as a nuisance. We have noticed that a single chick

often suffers from leg problems – probably because they have no brothers or sisters to push against when raising themselves to be fed. Moving such a chick to another nest is better for its development and permits the hen to get on with producing another clutch of eggs.

Zebra Finch chicks

Once there are chicks in the nest-box we inspect it every day. One of the main reasons for doing this is to ensure that the chicks have food in their crops. For this reason, we do not usually inspect early in the day, before parental feeding has got properly underway. We normally inspect during the early evening. Having said that, during a recent early morning walk through the bird room a two day old chick was found on the cage floor apparently dead and as cold as ice. Presumably it had inadvertently been carried from the nest by one of its parents. Once the chick had been warmed it ‘came to life’ and is now developing well.

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There is not a great deal one can do about a hen that is feeding badly – except to foster her chicks. However, do not be too hasty to discard such a hen from the breeding team as she may well feed properly at the next attempt. Very fit zebra finches are often over anxious to get on with producing the next round of chicks and are not as attentive as they might be to their nesting duties. Another thing to look out for when making inspections is a dirty nest. These can be caused by the soft food that is being offered. Sometimes too much egg food is the problem and cutting back the supply can do the trick. In our experience, a particular brand of egg food has caused dirty boxes in one bird room but not in another. Once you find a brand that suits your birds, stick with it. Dirty nests should be cleaned out or the nestbox can be replaced. At around seven days it is time to start checking whether a chick’s legs are large enough to be ringed with an official Zebra

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Finch Society closed coded ring – without the ring falling off again. It is impossible to be precise about a ringing age as even chicks of the same variety in the same nest can differ. Some varieties tend to be ready for ringing earlier than others. For example, as a general rule we would expect to ring Normals and Fawns at a younger age than Penguins or the nonstandard varieties. Once chicks have been rung we stop the daily nest-box inspections. This is because the disturbance can cause chicks to leave the nest-box prematurely, before they are capable of finding their own way back. This is when having chicks of different ages in the same nest-box can cause problems. The older ones leave the box and return at will whereas the younger ones follow them and finish up spending the night on the cage floor if not detected. Ideally, zebra finch chicks should leave the nest when they are fully feathered but, once again, parents keen to get on

FEATURE with the next round can upset proceedings. They throw the chicks out of the nest-box and drive them away. This is when feather plucking of chicks can occur. Plucking is not always rejection behaviour. It can also be a way of collecting nesting material – as demonstrated when parent birds pluck each other. Whatever the cause, feather plucking is undesirable. One way of coping with the problem of ejected chicks is to provide a second nest-box. More often than not, the cock and the rejected chicks will occupy one, while the hen gets on with laying eggs in another. An advantage of this approach is that the first round of chicks is unlikely to damage the second round eggs. The breeding cage feeding arrangements comprises a large dish of a budgerigar mixture that is strong in millets and weak in canary seed, a small dish of panicum millet, egg food, a mixture of mineralized and oyster shell grit plus clean drinking water. Once chicks are out in the cage the small dish of panicum is replaced by a large one. Zebra finch chicks love panicum and consume twice as much as they do the budgerigar mixture. We do not offer millet sprays at this stage because the parents would shred them up and use them as nesting material, possibly on top of incubating eggs. Many zebra finch breeders assume that when chicks have been seen feeding themselves it is safe to remove them from

the breeding cage. We do not agree. We prefer to use the calendar as our measure of maturity. We set up nursery cages with batches of youngsters removed from their parents at the same time. So, on a given day, usually a Saturday or Sunday, we remove every chick that is over five weeks old. The reason for this approach is that when there are chicks of different ages in the same breeding cage it would be easy to remove a chick before it is fully selfsupporting. Since adopting this method our losses of chicks during the weaning period has fallen to less than one per cent. Our nursery cages are, in effect, flight cages formed by removing dividers to form triple or quadruple cage units. Such a cage will comfortably house 20 to 30 youngsters. Zebra finch youngsters seem happiest when in a large group at this stage of their development. This is the point when millet sprays are added to the diet that they enjoyed while in the breeding cage. The sprays provide plenty of activity as well as nutrition. One of the most enjoyable experiences at this period of the zebra finch year is watching youngsters take a bath. It is then their individual characters can be seen at their best. Some plunge straight into the water without a moment’s hesitation, others merely dip in a toe and a few skirt all around the dish hardly getting wet. It is a lovely sight to see. Third and final part in the next edition

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LORO PARQUE FOLLOWS CLO GROWTH OF TWO SCARLET I

The fascinating South American aviaries accommodate the natural grow born for the first time in the park

24 BIRD SCENE

OSELY THE IBIS CHICKS

wth of two greyish chicks

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oro Parque has recently celebrated two new births at its sumptuous South American aviaries. On this occasion, two Scarlet Ibis chicks have brought joy to the entire team of the park with their vibrant, reddish feathers. It is the first time that this species, original of South America, has bred in the park. The entire process has developed naturally which demonstrates that the environment created for them is optimal and that they can express their natural behaviour in the spacious, innovative aviaries, which they share with different other species of the same geographic origin. The incubation period of the Scarlet Ibis, scientifically known as Eudocimus ruber, lasts 23 days. A chick hatches covered in black down that later develops into reddish feathers. After about a year and a half, the hatchlings obtain scarlet red plumage. The bright colour is an effect that is produced by a special pigment that the birds receive by ingesting small crustaceans, which form their principal source of nutrition. While they are still hatchlings, they maintain darker feathers and look quite different from the adult specimen. This serves them as a perfect camouflage that protects them from the numerous predators. The visitors to Loro Parque are able to observe how the new hatchlings are evolving, growing and gradually developing the colourful feathers.

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This species maintains the “Least Concern” status, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), although their populations in the wild tend to decline. This occurs due to continuous degradation of their natural habitats as a result of adverse human activities, including poaching and creation of artificial water channels. Therefore, the situation requires close monitoring and proactive action. These innovative installations at Loro Parque accommodate several different

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species that co-exist in harmony while developing their flying skills and interacting amongst themselves, which represents the best example of the environmental enrichment. Loro Parque recreates this complex environment within the South American Aviaries as an example of its continuous commitment to innovation and conservation of biodiversity, as well as to raising awareness among the public about the importance of protecting the wildlife and their natural habitats.

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Lilac-Crowned Amazon

A MILLENNIUM TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE WRITTEN BY: JOHN MOLLINDINIA

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O W T T R PA

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special “Thank You” to Mrs Audrey Hughes for arranging for the Schedules and Patronage booklets to be printed at a very reasonable cost at one of her local schools. The school is for children with both learning and/or physical disabilities and all the printing they do for us is very professionally done. So many members help in so many ways that the club can take great pride in being so successful in a time when many other cage bird societies are struggling or have gone under. Joyce Ayers is another of our members who can always be relies upon to help. Joyce willingly supplies the many succulent cakes, pastries and sandwiches at both our shows and our Xmas Fayre. We have always been fortunate in our choice of efficient Secretaries and Treasurers and Jennifer Davies is following this tradition with most excellent records. Jennifer also provides everyone at the Members show with an excellent cooked lunch. Another very good reason to show or at least attend this event. For many years Bill Shipp was Secretary, Treasurer, Show and Patronage Secretaries all rolled into one person. I am very pleased to see that Bill is feeling better and looking more like his old self again. Dave Hall is one of our past fanciers who have returned to the fold. In the 1950s he was a budgie fancier. Dave has

now made a name for himself as a proficient breeder of parrots especially Amazons. He is currently Chairman of the Amazona Society (TASUK). We all know what an avid and interesting speaker he is on this subject. Dave used to be a member of the Parrot Society Council and he now compiles the PS breeding register. If you would like to become a member of the 100-club please ask Mike Law for details. Each number costs just 50p each month. Three £5 prizes are paid out to the winners at each of the club meetings along with a chance of winning two £25 Snowballs during the year. Last year the club and its members were touched by sadness when Ray Davies, husband of our Secretary Jennifer, died. Our thoughts and sympathy went to her and her family. Ray was always there to help with the nourishment of both members and visitors alike at the Auctions, Shows and Club meetings and is sadly missed by us all. The Budgerigar Society and Fancy were shocked at the death of Georgina Bonner, wife of John. In the late 60’s and early 70’s these two stalwarts were the show secretaries of Luton. This was in our hey day when Luton received BS Championship Patronage. In those days our entries for budgies was in excess of 750 birds. When John founded the Bedfordshire BS we lost the invaluable services of them both. A quarter of a century ago Derek Pratt

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an active young Budgie member left Luton to run a hotel on Guernsey. I knew the hotel well as I had previously spent several holidays there in the 1950’s. I wrote about him in last year’s booklet, unfortunately he too died early in 1999. Sadly, just a few hours before the start of the New Year Dennis Burgess, another of our old members, passed away. Dennis had given up his birds some years ago after he became housebound. His main love was Foreign Birds and he had the aptitude to breed many different species of foreign birds which he duly showed at many events with much success. Dennis was on the committee for many years and was Chief Steward before eventually becoming Show Manager. Both he and Frances were great helpers in their 30 odd years with the club. They were especially good at fund raising, in the days when Jumble Sales, Street Fairs and the Stockwood Park event were our main forms of fund raising. Dennis and Francis were two of the team dressed as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in one of the two years that we won best dressed and best laid out stall at the Street Fair in George Street. This gave the Society much publicity and cash specials. On behalf of the Society and its members I send out our sympathy and condolences to Frances and her family in their sad loss. In years gone by Charlie Minjoodt was a successful all rounder who kept Canaries,

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Golden Canary

British and Foreign Birds. He spent his childhood and youth in the Far East, including Singapore and consequently grew up with the flora and fauna of the area. As a child he was looked after by an Amah (a Nanny) who loved birds. Bird life for him became an obsession. He saw and observed many different varieties that have never been seen in the UK or Europe. The knowledge he gained was put to good use when he came to live in England. He became a Foreign Bird judge and was well known as a highly informative and knowledgeable speaker on them. I have mentioned many and various venues where the Society has held events. At one time our Young Stock shows were held at the Vine Public House. We used to hold monthly meetings at the Luton Labour Club, Upper George Street. The meetings were held as they are now, on the second Monday of the month but at the earlier time of 7-8pm for the thriving Junior section and then from 8-10pm for the adult members.

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Stork-billed kingfisher - Singapore

…He spent his childhood and youth in the Far East, including Singapore and consequently grew up with the flora and fauna of the area. As a child he was looked after by an Amah (a Nanny) who loved birds.

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At this point I am sorry to say one such Junior, John Harris, who has now made a name for himself as a breeder and exhibitor of Bengalese and Zebra Finches will be leaving the town in 2000, but thankfully he will not be moving far away. As well as missing him at the committee and club meetings we shall also miss his valued services as our Open Show Secretary. John has recently been elected as a Bengalese Finch Judge and is already judging at premier events up and down the country.

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In the early 1960’s meetings were held in the Community Centre, Chapel Street. The Annual Dinner and Members Show Cup presentation was held in the Conservative Club, Market Hall. Some years later the dinners were held at the Cross Keys, Pulloxhill. Club events were also held in the Crown and Plough Public Houses. As you can see our Venues have been many and varied during the life of the club. A bit like the Parasite Cuckoo that lays its eggs in many different nests of unsuspecting host parents.

FEATURE As we all go through life certain events come to mind and in my case it is the number nine. In 1929 I became interested in bird life. 1939 found me in Khaki and being called up. I was already in the Territorial Royal Engineers so I was already familiar with our drill hall. January 1941 found me, along with many thousands of others, in the largest convoy to ever leave our shores. Sixtyeight boats in all. I travelled on the Monarch of Bermuda, a luxury liner.

Bengalese Finch

John has recently been elected as a Bengalese Finch Judge and is already judging at premier events up and down the country.

Five of the boats stopped at Gibraltar where I was lucky to spend 2 years and 289 days. Others went to various destinations but the majority went to Singapore, captivity and death. In 1949 I was elected to the Budgerigar Society General Council representing the South Midlands. In 1959, after I had hung up my football boots for the Old Lutonians 2 years earlier, our names were all put in hat and I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Cup Final when Luton Football Club took part and lost. The match coincided with the South Midlands Annual Dinner and Dance at St Albans Golf Club. After travelling back from Wembley, I got there very late and all the guests were seated by the time I arrived. As I was Chairman at the time there was much mickey taking. It was a time when I used to go dancing in London, not that I was much good, my partner got two tickets for the annual Actors Charity Ball at the Festival Hall. The draw took place during the evening and the winning number was mine, No 111. The prize was a holiday for two in the luxury suite used by Lord and Lady Docker who had been banned from Monaco and consequently Cannes. Travel and accommodation for a week’s stay, a wonderful 1st prize. Two of my other friends from Highbury made up a party of four to tour France,

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We showed highlights of our trip that included: Treetops Hotel, Thompson’s Falls, Lake Nakura National Park and Kericho, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater one of the biggest Calderas in the world, Olduvai and Lake Manyara National Park, Amboseli Game Reserve and Lake Naivasha. Cheetah and Cubs at the Maasai Mara National Reserve

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FEATURE Holland, Switzerland and Belgium finishing up with a visit to the recently completed Brussels Exhibition. We travelled in a Ford Popular that completed the circuit with no trouble. When we arrived at the entrance to the Hotel in Cannes the Major Domo took one look at our vehicle and told us the Tradesmen’s entrance was at the rear. His attitude changed completely when he realised who we were replacing…mon dieu… Those Eccentric British. That trip was completely different to my first visit to Cannes in 1952, when I chummed up with a petite American Prison Wardress, We corresponded afterwards and later she wrote that she would be in Cannes the next year but as I had already made other plans I was unable to get to Cannes in 1953. Sometime later I read in the Daily Telegraph that a young lady with the same name had been washed ashore. I wrote to her mother in the States and she confirmed it was her daughter. In 1968 my good friend Peter Riley and I went to Kenya and Tanganyika, now called Tanzania and made a cine film of the flora and fauna of the country. In 1969 we hired the Luton Town Hall Assembly room and advertised the event locally. We showed highlights of our trip that included: Treetops Hotel, Thompson’s Falls, Lake Nakura National Park and Kericho, Maasai Mara National Reserve,

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater one of the biggest Calderas in the world, Olduvai and Lake Manyara National Park, Amboseli Game Reserve and Lake Naivasha. Some 200 fanciers and townsfolk came to the event and all the proceeds went to the Luton Cage Bird Society as it was called then. In June 1999 the club was invited to a BBQ, organised by Audrey and Peter Hughes and held at their home. It was much enjoyed by the members who attended from both the North Herts and Luton Bird Clubs. The weather was wonderful as was the food and the company. Our open show was a most successful event due to the many helpers we had mucking in on the Friday afternoon/ evening and again on the Saturday, when all went smoothly. We had many compliments by visitors and showing members alike. Our special thanks go to all the nonmembers who were there to help. However, more help is needed at the end of the show to put the staging back in the garage. It’s a heavy job to do especially as the ones that are left to do it are the ones who put it up on the Friday and have spent a very long day helping run the show, it’s not very fair to leave it to a few loyal few who end up putting it away year after year. Thanks go to Joe Dumpleton, Joe uses

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his transit van to bring the staging on the Friday afternoon and take it back again on the Saturday evening, and he is not even a member or showman. The Members Show in November is an annual event held just for club members. It is run to enable all of us to meet together and show our birds in friendly competition and a social atmosphere. This year the entry was down and so was the help organising the event. The major part of this was left to Tony Philip, who found himself Show Secretary and Staging Manager. Special thanks to Phil Bailey for all his help and for providing the transport and man-power to fetch and return the staging to the garage at Manshead School.

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Jennifer Davies again master minded the catering with help from one or two other lady members. I am told the meal was delicious, meat pies from the butchers in Leighton Buzzard, boiled potatoes, carrots and green beans, followed by fresh homemade apple pie and custard. Dennis Croxford did another outstanding job selling raffle tickets for the most excellent raffle once again procured by Mr Dobbs with some of the prized, also having been donated by members. One member who has done extremely well on the Show Bench with her budgies is Pauline Pugh. Pauline shows at many venues throughout the country and is best known for her Red Eyed birds especially her Lutinos. At the Cambridgeshire BS Open Show, where 842

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budgies were benched, Pauline came first in the A/A Opp Sex and Best Y/B classes, this was in direct competition with showmen such as Frank Silva and Peter Spain, a wonderful achievement. This Year’s Open Show at Manshead School will be held on Saturday 28 October. The Members Show will be held on Sunday 26 November at Lilley Village Hall. If any members feel they can help in any way please contact the Secretary Jennifer Davies, myself or any of the other committee members. I trust you have enjoyed the speakers at the monthly meetings and I hope you will enjoy the monthly programme for the year 2000. So ends my history and current events of our Society. I hope that with your

help and support the club will continue to be recognised as one of the leading Cage Bird Societies in the Country. I have enjoyed compiling the booklets for you and hope you have found them an informative and amusing insight into the clubs events and history. I sent a copy of the one I did for 1999 to Terry Tuxford the Editor of Budgerigar World, who, in the December 1999 issue recounted the tale in his column about the Open Show thirty years ago, when we were inundated with entries and had to make new staging at the last minute to accommodate all the cages. Nice to think that fanciers from all over the country will be reading something interesting about our Luton Club. Wishing you all a Very Happy Millennium and every success with your birds in the 21st Century.

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

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LESSER VASA PARROTS WRITTEN BY: ANTON SCHREUDERS

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Mantadia National Park

Introduction “Anton, did you take that parrot cage from the attic? Sander has arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and is carrying two parrots for you.” It was the end of October 1993 that I received this telephone call from Wilma, my good friend Sander’s girlfriend. Four weeks earlier he had left for Madagascar on holiday and right before he left I asked as a joke if he could bring me some parrots. But Sander thought my request was serious so four weeks later I received my first two Lesser Vasa Parrots, totally unexpected, including export licence from Madagascar. This is how my Vasa adventure started. I didn’t plan at all to keep birds again in our house that we bought two years before. So I had to explain something to my wife who didn’t know anything about my joke, which ran a little out of hand.

At first the birds were housed in a cage in the living room, which was not a success for several reasons. This standard square parrot cage was definitely too small for these approx. 35 cm long birds. Although they became tame after a while and even if they were allowed to leave the cage for an hour on a daily base, they appeared to be excellent flyers that really needed much more space. After a couple of months they managed to escape by forcing the clips behind the food bowls. They pushed out the food bowls, escaped and demolished everything in the living room that was accessible. At a certain moment when the piano was nibbled I thought enough is enough! Eventually a small aviary was built in the basement where the birds felt much more comfortable. Nowadays I own more than twenty Lesser Vasa Parrots in several aviaries and I breed them albeit with

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varying degrees of success. Some years not one single pair produces offspring and some years more pairs produce and my collection amounts to more than thirty birds following a good season. So this article is about Lesser Vasa Parrots and is mainly based on my own experiences. I apologize for the poor quality of my pictures, but it was extremely difficult to take proper pictures in my indoor accommodation. Dull birds “Good for you, Anton that you keep busy with these “black crows”, but what’s the fun of it?” I totally agree that Lesser Vasas are not the most colourful birds. I shall not argue about matters of taste, however because of the subtle hue and fine pattern in the feathers I think they are beautiful. Especially if they can be observed in sunlight they show more colour and fine patterns than seen at first sight. The slim shape and a neck that can be stretched to an amazing length give them rather the appearance of a dove. Remarkable of course is the change of bill colour which changes from black to white in the breeding season. They are lively birds, practically never aggressive. More birds can be kept together in one relatively small room without any problem.

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I own several tame birds which like to sit on my hand or shoulder, but every attempt to touch them results in a bite reflex. I am sure this behaviour can be unlearned, but if the birds don’t like to be touched I respect that.

They don’t chew and demolish as much as other bigger parrots. Wooden branches will not be chewed to pieces. They do like to peel the bark of (willow or fruit tree) branches. They love sunbathing and take the strangest positions then. Sometimes they even lay on their back on the floor, just by seeing the bird’s breathing it is clear the parrot is not dead! They also whistle most charmingly and they own a repertoire of quite a lot of different melodies. Seldom do they scream and young birds become tame easily. Most fascinating is their breeding behaviour. Right before feeding the male stretches its neck to the maximum length and graciously bows

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deeply. When the hen accepts the male she throws her neck backwards and the male feeds her, at first sight this is done very roughly and very quickly. After being fed the hen chases the male away. In the breeding season the cloaca swells in both sexes, although more heavily with males rather than hens. Males even exhibit the sex organ outside the body. Mating can take one to several hours. The breeding process goes very quickly. The incubation time of the eggs takes only fourteen days. The chicks grow very fast and leave the nest at an age of five to six weeks. When they leave the nest their size is almost as big as their parents. At the age of three years the birds are fully grown. What do you mean, dull birds?

Living room Although there are people who keep Vasa Parrots as a pet, in my opinion they are less suitable for that. Vasa Parrots (Lessers as well as Greaters) show very different behaviour compared to other parrots. Except for the fact that they are excellent flyers, during the day they are active birds that need space. Vasa Parrots are not naturally affectionate birds. They hardly touch each other and they don’t like to be touched by humans in general. I own several tame birds which like to sit on my hand or shoulder, but every attempt to touch them results in a bite reflex. I am sure this behaviour can be unlearned, but if the birds don’t like to be touched I respect that.

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A serious factor to be considered is the volume of the Vasa’s vocal capabilities. In general Vasas are quiet birds, nothing to be concerned about. However in breeding time my Lessers are extremely loud. They hardly ever scream, but their whistle tunes are that loud that many people wonder if there is an alarm going off at our place constantly. By the way, they have many different melodies in their repertoire, certainly sounding nice and not always that loud. They are extremely quiet birds during winter time. They are very well capable of imitating sounds also. In Madagascar I even observed a Greater Vasa speaking a few words. Unfortunately I couldn’t understand Malagasy, but concerning its living condition I cannot exclude the bird was swearing… In our living room it was remarkable that the vacuum cleaner standard continued for a while after the apparatus was switched off, the same with the electric drill. Sometimes it was hard to determine the sound of a moped passing by or the Vasas being busy. This seems that I am trying to write an anti-advertisement for Vasas, but on the contrary Vasa Parrots are, in my humble opinion, one of the funniest and most fascinating parrots flying on our earth. Back to the start Although it was not my intention to keep birds all of a sudden I had two wild caught

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Lesser Vasa Parrots and no information at all about this species. Research in literature available at that time resulted in some basic information in the way of “they are somewhat dull coloured birds from Madagascar from which we don’t know very much actually”. Except from some vague descriptions of the subspecies, information was barely to be found at that time and about their behaviour and way of living in their natural habit nothing was known. I had no idea if there were any others in The Netherlands who kept Vasa Parrots. Eventually I got a little wiser after many experiments, a journey to Madagascar

FEATURE and contacts with scientists however it is still a mystery how this species can be bred successfully. Because of this it is a major challenge to protect this species in captivity. On arrival in The Netherlands these two first Lesser Vasas were obviously young birds. They seemed not fully grown. At the same time I noticed that one bird had a lighter colouration compared to the other. My conjecture that it was two different subspecies has been confirmed later. It also appeared to be two females. So, breeding became difficult….. Of course I went looking for males. That was quite a challenge. In fact they were

not to be found. Eventually my wife and I booked a holiday to Madagascar with the idea to buy some over there. That took place in 1995. At the end of our four weeks tour through the northern part of Madagascar my wife and I were able to buy some birds with export licence. The customs in The Netherlands didn’t cause difficulties. The officers of duty (first reaction: “what are these, crows?”) had no idea what kind of birds we carried. Importing the birds was approved and confirmed by placing a stamp on the export documents where after we were allowed to walk to exit. Yippie-ya-yo, breeding!

West side of Madacasgar

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the indoor aviary. The outdoor aviary I had covered on top and surrounded by sound insulating glass to prevent noise pollution. We live in a row of houses, so complaints from our neighbours were to be expected otherwise…….. The birds bought in Madagascar were all coloured red-brown due to the dust of the soil over there. So it was impossible to determine the subspecies. After several weeks staying in the aviary I was able to observe that it was a mix of Coracopsis nigra nigra (nominate form) and C.n. libs. However, breeding wild caught Lesser Vasa Parrots without finding good information in literature in 1995 forget it! In the meantime I made contact with then Chester Zoo’s curator of birds Mr. Roger Wilkinson who was successfully breeding Lesser Vasas in a colony. So I would try so too. Our aviary was extended to our garden, where a Group of eight Lesser Vasas had just enough space. To make this clearer: our backyard lays lower than our street in front of the house, our garden approx. is at the same level as our basement floor. So the outdoor aviary could be built against

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Madagascar About the four weeks during tour through Madagascar I can write a complete different article, but here I shall give limited information related to Vasa Parrots only. Madagascar is an isle opposite to Mozambique’s coast in Africa. The size is about France + Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands together and quite densely populated. In the 1990’s the country was hardly visited by any tourists and often we were an attraction ourselves for the (mostly friendly and even sometimes a little shy) local people.

FEATURE Due to the bad infrastructure the country was being travelled by car with difficulty. Nevertheless, to see more about the country rather than the capital a car can be convenient. We only drove across the northern half of Madagascar in a fourwheel-drive vehicle with an excellent Malagasy driver by the way. Starting point was the capital of Antananarivo, we drove eastward in the direction of Tamatave with the intention to drive along the shore to the north and driving back to Antananarivo via the west side. Unfortunately some rivers we had to cross with shaky bridges and broken down ferries stopped us. We had to drive back to Antananarivo from where we travelled via the west side northward to Antsohihy. From there we crossed the highland, where after some time we found no roads anymore. Not one single road map showed any road over there, but still we managed to cross the highland by car from the west side to the east side. Struggling through rivers, sliding away near abysses, sinking away in squashy meadows we still reached a road through the jungle, which lead us to the east coast eventually. Along the east coast we continued driving northwards to camp in the Ankarana Mountains in the northwest for a couple of days. Afterward we drove along the west coast via Plage Hermitage and Mavaetenana back to Antananarivo again. That was our journey in a nut shell. A nice tour, but in general it was spending many

hours in the car in a very hot environment, best described as hell. On the other hand Madagascar’s flora and fauna and native culture is that much interesting and fascinating that we wouldn’t have missed this adventure at any price. But, as I hear you asking impatiently: “Anton, did you see any Vasa Parrots over there?” I can tell you, yes indeed……….. in Antananarivo’s Zoo! In the wild we sporadically observed some Vasa Parrots. At about 120 km east of Antananarivo, just past Moramanga, lies the Mantadia National Park (better known as Périnet) where the largest lemur of Madagascar lives, the Indri. From the village of Andasibe the National Park can be visited. In the forest we could hear Vasa Parrots, but we didn’t see them. Along the entire east coast we have seen no Vasa Parrots at all. The first Vasa Parrots we found near Antsohihy. While we drunk a little drink, I saw two Greater Vasa Parrots staying in a small shed behind, one of them spoke a few words. However, the owner did not allow me to approach the birds. In the same village we saw at the local butcher, who was chopping off his flesh, a Lesser Vasa Parrot beside the meat. Occasionally the butcher apparently cut wrong sometimes, because the bird was missing almost all toes. The bird was obviously very nervous and did not want to sit on my hand. Each rapprochement attempt was met with a biting reflex, and the bird quickly recoiled.

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Madagascar is called the red island for a very good reason. The soil consists mainly of brown-red laterite. In the dry season it is very dusty almost everywhere and everything is coloured red in no time. Also the Greater and Lesser Vasa Parrots here were brown coloured by the red-brown dust. So for me it was impossible to determine the subspecies on-site. The first distinct observation we could do was in the Ankarana Mountains in the north. In the rock face at a lake called Lac Vert nestled a pair of Greater Vasas. Every morning they flew over the treetops of the forest, where we camped for several days. The conditions were quite primitive. There was no camping place we stayed in the middle of the forest. Food we had brought ourselves, water was taken from an underground river in a cave. The water we disinfected with iodine to make it drinkable. For us it was an interesting area because we have observed here quite a lot of animals and interesting plants, including reptiles (various geckos), in the streams Pachypanchax homalonotus (small killifish) and Aponogeton madagascariensis (water plant), crown lemurs (Lemur coronatus), Ring-tailed mongoose (Galidia elegans) etc. After climbing the peaks of these pinnacle mountains we descended a cliff, down to the small lake Lac Vert. Down the cliff it appeared an underground river got out

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from a cave. We walked a little piece into the cave, but had no flashlights. So quickly we walked back to take a bath in the greenish water of the lake. Later it turned out that it was swarming with crocodiles in the cave.......... Because we had no binoculars or telephoto lenses for our camera, observing the Vasa Parrots was difficult. Moreover, after a few days we had to leave our camp to continue our journey, partly because a group of crown lemurs had plundered our food supply........... About a day’s drive from Ankarana on the west coast, I saw flying over a Lesser Vasa Parrot on the edge of a mangrove forest. Unfortunately I have not seen more individuals. The other (Lesser) Vasa Parrots we have seen in the zoo and at two traders only. Locals and animal traders told us that Lesser Vasa Parrots (then in 1995 already) were always difficult to find. The bird catchers had to look deeper and deeper into the woods. That probably explains why, in that year, the export quota for the Greater Vasa Parrot had been reached in October: 3,000 birds! I initially bought a few Greater Vasas but no further export permits were available, luckily I was able to exchange them for Lesser Vasas. Where that 3,000 Greater Vasas went to I do not know, but as far as I know that into Europe not that many have been imported. Anyway, for the Lesser Vasas also a quota

FEATURE of 3,000 birds was concerned and it was estimated that only a couple of hundred were exported that year. So without any problem I got an export license from the Ministry of Eaux et Foret for six birds. With mixed feelings, I took the birds to the Netherlands, because now I realized that the Lesser Vasa Parrot in particular is threatened to some degree in the wild. Although the species is not seriously threatened yet, according to the latest reports from Bird Life Int., this may change quickly because of the massive deforestation taking place in Madagascar. This is cited by Bird Life Int. also in its final reports. In aviculture there is a risk Lesser Vasa Parrots will

disappear, because of the small number of remaining birds hardly produce offspring and this is all the more reason to breed them. Continued Next Month…

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