Conservation and Macaws

In case you never learned this in geography classes, the scarlet macaw is the national bird of Honduras. This parrot is truly magnificent, with a large wingspan, a meter or more across. The plumage is in vivid colors and prized by tribes in the area for decoration and ceremonies. They are also a bird that is easy to hand raise and sell for thousands of dollars as pets.

Penguins in the Dove Flight

Some years ago, a sweet little zebra finch caught my eye. She had a white face that rounded up over her eyes. I have no idea where these genes came from, but I had a penguin mutation zeeb. Many months passed before I decided to act on trying to breed her. First of all, I wasn’t familiar enough with the mutation to determine if she was male or female. I have a flight of white ringneck doves who are pretty easy going, so I put a nest box in there and put in my bird, a male zeeb that is mostly white and a female zeeb that is mostly white.

Fall in Love with Lady Gouldian Finches

The Gouldian Finch has a very tangled back story and lots of myths from early breeders. How did they get that name? Why are they supposed to be hard to keep and breed? Is it true you have to have society finches to raise the goulds’ chicks? Let’s go back a century or so to the grasslands of Australia and the early naturalists who roamed the land.

Incubator Surprise

As I may have mentioned before, someone loaned me an incubator and a few pheasant eggs to see if they would hatch. I diligently added water, put a few of my coturnix eggs in as well, and let it rock and run for the full amount of time stated in the instructions. Waiting for these eggs has been one of the hardest things I have ever done.