Parrot Conservation during a Pandemic

Zoos and aquariums are struggling to keep their animals healthy and cared for. Live webcams are allowing people to watch the inhabitants there go on about their daily lives. Shelters are also finding it hard to care for the animals there when many volunteers are becoming ill. What’s going on in the world of conservation? Are the sanctuaries having the same problems?

The Birds and the Bees about Birds

Most avian species are primarily sexual creatures. They live to find a mate and reproduce. I have watched the courtship of zebra finches (the male grabs the female by the back of her neck and mounts her), button quail (the male grabs the female by the back of her neck and mounts her), and cockatiels (the male grabs the female by the back of her neck and mounts her), and so on. Not a lot of finesse, although this original mounting takes place within seconds of the two being introduced. Once the female gives up her plans to be a movie star and settles down, they mate with a little more decorum.

Why Do You Have Parrots? Part 2

As I go about my morning, I stop at each cage and say hello to the parrots. Only Maynard might answer with a “Good Morning” but lately he’s been upset with me. I won’t take him out to play in the rain. I scratch Jessie’s head as she gives me a raspberry and kiss Tron’s cage because he hates hands. I reach into Bo Dangle’s cage to scratch her head and tell her how pretty she is. Finally, Blind Io gets a nose touch if he is by the sides of the cage.

Why Do You Have Parrots?

Why do I have parrots? I may have had one too many dreams about being able to fly. I’ve always loved birds as well as pretty much all living things and had an especially lucky life where nothing bad ever happened to me that involved birds.

Fall in Love with Rosy Bourkes

If you like the sound of a waterfall, especially a small one trickling over stones, you already have a predisposition toward Bourke Parakeets. One of Australia’s many grass parakeets, these sweet little birds are not usually aggressive and are mostly active at sunup and sundown. They are named after a controversial Irish politician, General Sir Richard Bourke. While the governor of New South Wales, he allowed a new settlement on the Yarra River, which he named Melbourne for the incumbent British Prime Minister of the time.