General
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
I had my first contact with Goffin’s cockatoos in the mid 1970’s, while working for a bird importer. At that time, they were among the least expensive of the parrots, and for this reason were branded as a poor choice for a pet. Yet even in the importer’s chaotic holding rooms, amid [...]

Recently I wrote about the nutritional value of seed sprouts, and highlighted Vitakraft’s Sprout Pot, a most convenient way of growing them (please see below). Today I’d like to describe a method of sprouting additional types of seed at home.
Seeds to Use
The seeds chosen for spouting should be fresh and be comprised of as wide [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
The nutritional needs of some of our most colorful and interesting pet birds are not met by seed-based diets. Lories and lorikeets, for example, require a soupy mix of fruits and nectars. Many gorgeous softbills, such as the shama thrush (Copsychus malabaricus) and Peking robin (Leiothrix lutea) subsist largely upon insects, and [...]

Hi, Frank Indiviglio here.
Parrots are among the most vocally gifted of birds, and rely heavily upon complex communication skills when interacting with one another. Their vocalizations originate in the syrinx, or “voice box”, and it is from this organ that their voices’ complexities were assumed to originate. However, as bird keepers know, parrots continually bob [...]

Hi, Frank Indiviglio here.
 
On of my first jobs as a fledgling keeper at the Bronx Zoo was distributing grass sprouts at the World of Birds building.  Grown hydroponically (in water, without soil) the tiny green shoots were relished by nearly all of the zoo’s vast bird collection, from finches to ostriches.  Sprouts were given to [...]

Overview
Hi, Frank Indiviglio here.
Despite its status as one of the most frequently kept cockatoos, this Indonesian native remains something of a mystery in the wild. The Goffin’s cockatoo is, in fact, in somewhat of an unusual situation – being at once bred in huge numbers in captivity and yet likely endangered in the wild. Today [...]

Normal Noise
Incessant screaming is the most common and serious problem complained of by parrot owners. Of course, one must first distinguish between normal and abnormal vocalizations. Having observed a number of parrot species in the wild, and worked with many more in zoos and aviaries, I can assure you that almost all are extremely noisy [...]

The concept of behavioral enrichment encompasses a number of techniques designed to encourage a captive animal to live, for lack of a better word, a “fuller” life. We do this by exploiting natural behaviors in a way that encourages the animal to stretch its mind and body by exploring, exercising, hunting, trying new foods and [...]

Causes and Symptoms
Avian goiter or thyroid hyperplasia is most commonly caused by an iodine poor diet. The afflicted bird’s thyroid gland cannot produce enough thyroxine, and the brain responds by signaling the gland to increase the number of thyroxine-synthesizing cells. These additional cells cause the thyroid gland (located in the throat) to enlarge, which is [...]

“Cockatoo”? Yes, molecular genetic studies have revealed that this most common of pet birds is actually a true cockatoo. Today I would like to pass along a few facts about its life in the wild.
Range
Cockatiels range throughout nearly all of interior Australia and along the northwestern coast. During drought years, immense flocks may appear in [...]