Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Behavioral enrichment came into vogue in zoos in the last 10 years or so, and is now a “buzzword” throughout the industry.  Of course, good zookeepers and pet owners have long known that captive animal health (and, as concerns bored, screaming parrots, captor sanity!) is aided by the provision of opportunities to [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Crimson rosellas, colorful parrots much favored as pets, follow a unique strategy when rearing their young.
The Typical Scenario
Rosella eggs, like those of all parrots, hatch in the order they were laid, so that the first chick to emerge has a few days head-start on the last.  In most bird species where this [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Macaws in a store or the wild draw the eye instantly – loud, gorgeous, active and intelligent, they are the ultimate parrot pets in the eyes of many hobbyists.  Indeed, when prices were lower, a macaw was often the first parrot purchased by those new to the hobby.
Some Preliminary Considerations
However, these strong-willed [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Nolvasan is effective in eliminating a wide range of bacteria and other micro-organisms when used as a cleaning agent, and I relied upon it throughout my zoo career. 
Many aviculturists utilize Nolvasan as an additive to drinking water and hand-feeding formulas, most especially where the yeast Candida albicans is a concern.  Its effectiveness [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
The chipper little zebra finch, ever popular in the lab and home, has once again shed some light on topics important to those who study both birds and people.
Hearing and Correcting the Song
Researchers at Switzerland’s Zurich University have shown that certain cells in zebra finch brains become active when the bird makes [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
The presence of whole, undigested seeds in a parrot’s stool is cause for concern.  It is usually associated with hyper-motility of the gastrointestinal (digestive) tract — in other words, food is passing too quickly through the system, and digestion is not taking place.  The problem usually centers in the glandular stomach (proventriculus) [...]

Click: Breeding the Melba Finch (Green-Winged Pytilia), Pytilia melba - Part 1 to read the first part of this article.
The Importance of Insects in the Diet
The Melba finch’s beak is much thinner than that of those finches, such as the Gouldian, that rely on a seed-based diet.  In the wild this species consumes a good deal of insect [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.The hardy Melba finch is among the most popular of the Estrildidae (an order of approximately 130 species of waxbills and grass finches), but after reading most husbandry accounts, you would quickly abandon any hope of breeding it in captivity. Most authors suggest not even attempting such unless you can provide the [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.We’ve all handled our share of troublesome parrots, but 2 incidents that caught my attention recently seemed worthy of passing along…enjoy.
A bad Actor…or a Brilliant Prankster?
An Amazon parrot set to debut in a Christmas play for a professional theatre company in Dorset, England was summarily dismissed for replacing his painstakingly-learned lines with [...]

Hi Frank Indiviglio here.
Last time we took a look at some of the fine foods available to those who keep softbills and lories as pets (Please see Alternative Bird Foods – Yesterday and Today, Part I).  I mentioned that these products have greatly simplified the captive husbandry of a number of species, and alluded to [...]