City Parrots

Is there a future for the Caribbean parrots?

City Parrots — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 12:34:43 +0000

1 of 2 captive Sisserou. This one at the Botanical gardens in Roseau September 2017 and the media is packed back to back with hurricane news. Harvey, Irma and Maria have devastated the Caribbean region. Puerto Rico and Dominica seems to be exceptionally hard hit as we await the reestablishment of contact with these regions that lost most ways of communicating with the outside world.

Unequal distribution of sons and daughters in Amazon parrots

City Parrots — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 16:30:16 +0000

What is the sex ratio of the amazon parrot you breed? Image by Frank WoutersIn many bird species, the proportion of sons and daughters (offspring sex ratio) can strongly deviate from the expected 50:50. This phenomenon has been observed in domestic species, e.g. chicken, quail, and pigeons, but also in wild species, such as gulls or parrots. Evolutionary theory predicts, that under certain circumstances mothers will gain an advantage by producing a biased offspring sex ratio, for example, when the chances to reproduce differs between the sexes. Still, the underlying mechanisms leading to a biased offspring sex ratio are largely unknown. Research suggests, that the body condition and the hormonal status of the breeding female is of high relevance.

Pearcedale’s Moonlit Sanctuary helps save orange-bellied parrots

City Parrots — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:53:00 +0000

Moonlit Sanctuary’s Lisa Tuthill with a 5-year-old male Orange Bellied Parrot. Image by Jason Sammon

PEARCEDALE’S Moonlit Sanctuary is playing a key role in preventing the extinction of an extremely rare species of parrot.

Uncertain future for kakapo recovery plan as smelter ends funding deal

City Parrots — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:42:00 +0000

Sirocco the kakapo was the guest of honour at a party on Tuesday night to thank the NZ Aluminium Smelter for its support of the birds' recovery programme. The partnership is set to end in December, with future funding uncertain. Image by CAMERON BURNELLThe future of the Department of Conservation's kakapo recovery programme appears uncertain, with the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter looking at pulling out of its commercial funding after 25 years.

Wild orange-bellied parrots being killed by virus; questions arise over source of beak and feather disease

City Parrots — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 19:26:00 +0000

An orange-bellied parrot in captivity.

The bird is on the brink of extinction with fewer than 70 birds thought to exist in the wild.

Otatara pest control efforts paying off

City Parrots — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 19:49:00 +0000

Kaka Casey and Russell Evans at Bush Haven bird sanctuary in Otatara. Image by JOHN HAWKINSWhen Otatara couple Darren and Joanna May spotted a kaka in their yard they took it as reward for all their pest control efforts.

Forestry Tasmania urged to help save swift parrot by reducing logging area by 3 per cent

City Parrots — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 19:32:00 +0000

The swift parrot breeds in Tasmania and migrates north to south eastern Australia from Griffith-Warialda in New South Wales and west to Adelaide in the winter. Image by CHRIS TZAROS

Forestry Tasmania is being urged to stop logging in 3 per cent of its native forest logging area because it is habitat for the endangered swift parrot.

First kakariki chicks hatched for Natureland breeding program video

City Parrots — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 20:03:00 +0000

Two Kakariki chicks have hatched at Natureland. The five week old chick surveys its enclosure.The hatching of two native parrots at Natureland is a sign that the recently established kakariki breeding program is off to a flying start.

Protected areas only work if they include what threatened species need

City Parrots — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 19:56:00 +0000

Tucuman Parrots like this one require tree cavities and access to pino blanco seeds to successfully reproduce. Credit: L. Rivera The Tucuman Parrot (Amazona tucumana) is found only on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Bolivia and Argentina, in a region known as the Southern Yungas forest. In the 1980s, its population suffered a severe decline due to capture for the pet trade, and it has never recovered. Conservation efforts have focused on protecting swaths of Southern Yungas habitat, but new research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications highlights the ways in which this strategy may fall short. Anna Pidgeon of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her colleagues found that only 19% of the Southern Yungas is actually suitable breeding habitat for these parrots, and only 15% of breeding habitat is under any form of protection. Not all Southern Yungas forest is the same, and protecting habitat can only work if it includes what Tucuman Parrots actually need to successfully reproduce: tree cavities to nest in, and plenty of mature pino blanco (Podocarpus parlatorei), the evergreen trees whose seeds are the primary food for the nestlings.

Looking for a night parrot in a haystack? Found one

City Parrots — Sun, 09 Aug 2015 22:05:57 +0000

Steve Murphy holds the worlds only ever captured Night Parrot. Picture: Rachel Barr Somewhere beneath the spinifex, nestled amid seemingly unending gibber rock plains and red soil, lies the holy grail of bird watching.