That Bird Blog That Fish Place / That Pet Place Bird Blog

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.

A wide and varied range of factors can lead to low egg output, poor hatch rate or infertile eggs.  Today I’d like to present a general framework for looking at the problem.  I’ll address individual topics in detail in future articles…please also see the other articles on this blog, noted below, for further information.

Environmental Factors

It is important to be well-versed in the natural history of the species that you keep.  Knowing when your birds breed in the wild will give you an indication of what might stimulate them in captivity.  Having a compatible pair is often not enough to insure success – the hen may lay, but fertility can be affected if natural breeding stimuli are missing.  If you are experiencing difficulties, go beyond avicultural articles in your reading and look how the bird lives in nature…most of what we know about breeding animals of all types originated in this manner.

An increase in temperature, day length or humidity/rainfall may be required.  In many cases, light timers, humidifiers and portable room heaters can be used to create the appropriate conditions.

The appearance of a nest box or suitable nest site can be a powerful breeding stimulus, especially when combined with other environmental changes as mentioned above.

Weather and seasonal changes often bring with them novel food items, or an increase in the availability of certain foods.  The provision of live insects is a time-honored zoo and avicultural technique for certain species.  Budding trees, sprouting grasses or the ripening of specific fruits may also be important in stimulating reproduction…again, it is important to study your bird’s natural history.

Behavioral Factors

Same-sex pairs form among captive birds of many species.  For those which are not sexually dimorphic, courtship behavior may not be a reliable indication of a successfully mated pair.  Sexing via feather analysis or laparoscopy may be necessary.

Paired birds that live together but fail to mate are sometimes stimulated by a period of separation.

Imprinted, hand-raised and fostered birds sometimes fail to form pair bonds and mate successfully.

Nutritional Factors

Review your bird’s diet carefully, as vitamin and mineral deficiencies are often behind infertility.  Obesity is a cause for concern as well.

Genetic Factors

Inbreeding can reduce fertility.  Inbreeding depression is especially common among rare birds which originated from a small pool of founding stock.  You may also run into this problem with common species if you consistently purchase your birds from the same source.  Check that your supplier deals with various breeders, to assure that the birds in your collection are more likely to be unrelated.

Reproductive Disorders

If all else seems in order, you may wish to have your birds evaluated by a veterinarian, to rule any of the more commonly encountered avian reproductive disorders.

Please write in with your questions and comments.  Thanks, until next time, Frank Indiviglio.

Further information on this topic may be found in the following articles:

Diagnosis and Treatment of Ailments Affilicting Various Aviary Birds 

Nests, Nesting and Nesting Materials for Finches, Canaries Lovebirds and Other Species

Lighting for Your Pet Bird and the Importance of Photoperiod

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.

Parrot finches are aptly named…the bright green plumage common to many, set off by red and blue, does bring to mind a tiny Amazon parrot.  They are quite unique in appearance from other finches, and once seen cannot easily be mistaken for anything else.  Some are among the most highly prized of all cage birds, but 2 species are well established in captivity and readily available.

Some Preliminary Considerations

Parrot finches average only 5 inches in length, but are very active, even by finch standards.  They should be given a larger cage than their size alone would indicate.  All species are native to warm climates and, while some can be acclimatized to cool temperatures, they do best when kept fairly warm.

Diet

Dietary variety is an important consideration in keeping parrot finches…all species that are regularly kept take a wider range of food than do most related birds.  In order to ensure that all bases are covered, the basic diet should consist of a mix of 2 high quality foods, such as Fiesta Finch Food  and Vita Bird Finch Food.

Parrot finches seem to have fairly high protein requirements, and relish egg food and small insects.  Bits of fruit and sprouts  should also be offered regularly.

Range

Parrot finches occur from Southeast Asia to New Guinea and northern Australia, and on many of the numerous islands within that range.  Twelve to thirteen species are recognized.  The popular gouldian finch was formerly classified as a parrot finch, but most ornithologists no longer classify it so.

Popular Species

The blue-faced parrot finch, E. trichroa, is the most commonly seen species and breeds well in captivity.  The red-headed parrot finch, E. psittacea, is also fairly well known…in the wild it is found only on New Caledonia.  One of the most colorful parrot finches is the nonpareil, or pintailed parrot finch, E. prasina.  Attractively clad in blue, red, yellow and green, this little gem is a bit delicate and does not breed as readily as the 2 species just mentioned.

You can read about the natural history and conservation status of the nonpareil and other parrot finches at:

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=8684&m=0

This website has some good parrot finch pictures. Check them out here.

Until next time, please write in with your questions and comments. Thanks, Frank Indiviglio.

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.

Florida’s only native parrot, the Carolina parakeet, is unfortunately no longer with us, having been hunted out of existence in the early 1900′s.  But at least 40 other parrot species have taken up residence in the Sunshine State (74 species have been sighted there since the 1960′s), and a recent survey reveals that most have established breeding populations.

Included among these in residence are Goffin’s cockatoos, chestnut-fronted macaws, African gray parrots, black-headed and red-throated parakeets, nearly every commonly-kept Amazon and mitred and sun conures.  Both green-winged and blue and gold macaws are regularly sighted, but breeding success has not been documented.

One of the most surprising discoveries has been a robust population of red-crowned Amazon parrots, a species considered quite threatened in its native northeastern Mexico.  Roosting aggregations of 100-200+ birds have been observed, and breeding pairs were been documented in Fort Lauderdale as far back as the early 1970′s.  A reintroduction program, using individuals trapped in Florida, is under consideration.

As a naturalist with wide interests, I’m awed by Florida’s introduced wildlife, despite the environmental havoc that has resulted.  In addition to some of the birds mentioned above, I have also observed dozens of species of introduced fishes, reptiles, amphibians, insects and spiders.  Exotic mammals have been the biggest surprise – African pouched rats, capybara, agoutis and a number of other surprising finds await those who wander afield in this most unusual state. 

Thanks, until next time, Frank Indiviglio.

An in depth Florida Field Naturalist article on introduced parrots is posted at http://www.fosbirds.org/FFN/Articles/FFNv30n4p111-131Pranty.pdf

Image referenced from Wikipedia and originally posted by Roger Moore Glandauer.

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.

While in Tokyo recently, I remarked to a biologist friend that I was surprised to see that crows were so much at home in the heart of this giant, busy city.  The local species is closely related to the American and fish crow, neither of which usually frequents urban areas. 

As we talked on, I learned that carrion crows utilize cars to break nuts.  This in itself is not so unusual, as crows and their relatives are well-known for their tool-using skills, and many birds drop clams, bones and other such items on hard surfaces to crack them (please see my article on crows and ravens ). 

But carrion crows in Tokyo, Osaka and elsewhere have refined the art immensely.  Dodging cars to retrieve cracked seeds was apparently not to their liking, as many now leave nuts to be cracked within the pedestrian crosswalk.  They wait patiently until the light is in their favor, and then walk out, along with the “regular pedestrians”, to claim their now-edible nuts!

Having grown up in NYC, I was shocked upon visiting Tokyo to see that no one, young or old, crossed against red lights…even when there is not a car in sight.  It just doesn’t happen!  My friend assured me that the crows are not always so well-behaved as the people, and sometimes ran out for their rewards during lulls in traffic, against the light!

Unfortunately, I heard the story shortly before departing for Kyoto, where it seems the crows are not quite as sharp (or fearful?) as their big-city cousins, but I did get to see numerous car-cracked nut shells in one neighborhood.  Carrion crows are quite regular in their habits…in some countryside areas, their calls as they fly to roost were (and I hope still are!) a signal for children to return home for dinner.

Thanks, until next time, Frank Indiviglio.  Yes, you can see it on Youtube! A segment from a BBC show is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0

Image referenced from Wikipedia and originally posted by BS Thurner Hof

We cannot hope to understand and appropriately moderate our pet birds’ behaviors if we have not studied their natural histories.  All captive behavior stems from a species’ natural behavior…viewing the topic in that light is the only sensible way to go about achieving harmony with our pets.

Natural Behaviors

Even after decades of working with parrots, I’m still sometimes surprised at the racket they make in their natural habitats.  Free-living parrots are always vocalizing…on the wing, while feeding and in their roosting sites.  Doves begin calling before first light, male canaries sing incessantly in the breeding season,  male peafowl scream… and so on.  To expect otherwise of them in captivity is unreasonable. 

Why Punishment is Ineffective

That being said, there are a number of captive behaviors that can and should be addressed.  But birds do not recognize punishment…it’s simply not within their abilities, and never will be.  Many mammals restrain and punish their young…dogs, for example, will respond to punishment, although it is certainly not the best way to train them.  Birds, however, respond to punishment as a threat, or an attack, and will react accordingly.

Yelling at a screaming parrot will usually ensure a vocal free-for-all, with the bird trying its level best to top you!  Squirting water, sometimes recommended in books, is useless…at most it will temporarily frighten a bird, and in the long run will do more harm than good.  Hopefully it goes without saying that one should never strike a bird (well, I pushed a male ostrich once, but he was about to do much worse to me!).

Parrots can often be distracted or their behavior re-directed, but again such are only temporary solutions.  It is important to get to the root of the problem…in many cases, knowing the bird’s history is vital in understanding its reactions and behaviors.

For information on specific behavioral problems, please see my articles Parrot Bonding as a Behavioral Problem  and Help! My Parrot Won’t Stop Screaming.  

Thanks, until next time, Frank Indiviglio.