Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. In Part I of this article we discussed eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus) behavior in the wild and captivity. Today I would like to focus on one of the more unusual facets Eclectus Parrot natural history – how a unique reproductive strategy has fostered a degree of sexual dimorphism (difference in [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  One day, while working in Bronx Zoo’s eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus) exhibit, a visitor asked me what sort of food additives I used to keep the bird’s colors so brilliant and silky.  Another, upon viewing a pair of eclectus preening, inquired how I had managed to get the two different species [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Parrot owners often tend to focus on their birds’ speaking abilities, but it is the many vocalizations that our pets make naturally that represent their true efforts at communicating with us. Following are a few commonly-heard parrot sounds and their usual meanings.

Beak Grinding
People often grind their teeth at night, [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Male canaries (Serinus canaria), long prized for their beautiful songs, may have unique learning abilities that explain their outstanding performances. Most birds acquire singing abilities by listening to others of their kind early in life…without appropriate role models, they fail to develop normal songs. Young canaries, however, seem able to switch [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. People who breed canaries, shama thrushes and other noted songsters often comment that housing males within hearing distance of one another improves the quality of their songs. This theory has now been validated by researchers studying song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) at the University of Miami.
Typical and Improved Songs
It seems that male [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Toucan bills are perhaps the best known of all bird appendages. Comprising 40% or more of the toucan’s total surface area, these long, colorful structures were thought to serve primarily as fruit gathering tools and, perhaps, to attract mates. However, research involving the toco toucan (Ramphastos toco), which sports the largest [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. With a total population numbering 295 birds, only 60 of which live in the wild, the Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata) holds the unenviable title of one of the world’s 10 most endangered birds. A subspecies, A. v. gracilipes, once found on neighboring Culebra, Mona and Vieques Islands, is now extinct.
US [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Attention to breeding birds in public and private collections, along with increased legal protection, has helped a great many species to recover from earlier population crashes. In some instances, rescue efforts represent the only hope for a species, as none survive in the wild. However, upon reviewing species status reports recently, [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Researchers at Auckland and Oxford Universities have recently (August, 2009) published reports that may establish the New Caledonian crow, Corvus moneduloides, as the world’s most intelligent non-human animal.  Related to the familiar North American crow and raven (very bright birds in their own right…please see photo), New Caledonian crows have exhibited [...]

The Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae) is at once a popular pet and an endangered species. Large and stocky (for a finch), it boasts a stunning array of 7 bright colors, a fact that has long rendered it among the most expensive of all finches. However, it is now widely bred here in the USA, and [...]