Watch flesh-eating beetles devour a parrot… for science

Military Macaw being devoured by flesh-eating beetles.Sometimes skin, feathers and the more fleshy parts of an animal are just in the way of the part that we need to study. So how do museums get nice clean skeletal specimens? Some museums use harsh chemicals, like hydrogen peroxide and carbon tetrachloride, to eat away the flesh — but this technique can cause damage to the bones as well as molecular changes. The Natural History Museum in London has found a greener solution: flesh-eating beetles.

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Colombia Mega Dam Will Destroy Habitat for Threatened Macaw and Newly-Discovered Wren

Military Macaw by Greg Homel, Natural Elements ProductionsCelebrations over the discovery in Colombia of a new species of bird were short lived when it was revealed that much of its habitat – also the habitat for a threatened macaw – is in danger of being flooded by a new hydro-electric dam project.

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Rescued Exotic Birds Delight Children at Bryant Park

Djuna Mauceri holds Cookie, a green-cheeked conure exotic bird, as Terri Jones, director of Arcadia Bird Sanctuary, assists her at Manhattan's Bryant Park on Aug. 21. (Benjamin Chasteen)NEW YORK—J.B., a small Senegal parrot, had her first outing to Bryant Park Tuesday with the Arcadia Bird Sanctuary. Her initials stand for “Just Bird,” for lack of a better name, said Terri Jones, director of the sanctuary.

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Protecting Mexico’s Feathered Treasures

Authorities found more than 25 white-fronted parrots squeezed into this cardboard box during a seizure in Chiapas State, Mexico. The vast majority of trafficked parrots die in transit from suffocation, dehydration, stress, and other causes. (Credit: PROFEPA)A trade ban offers hope for a country's native parrots

The international pet trade is likely second only to habitat reduction as the biggest threat facing parrots in the wild. With 22 native parrot species, Mexico is at the forefront of the battle to save its iconic birds from becoming commodities of the pet trade. Early signs suggest it is winning the war.

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Portlaoise pet shop fined over rare bird

Scarlet Macaw together with a Military macaw. Image by Sandy/Chuck HarrisA PET shop owner has been fined n4,000 at Portlaoise District Court for having an unlicensed parrot and a tube of glue trap.

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