That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

A YouTube video of an Eclectus Parrot clinging to the windshield wiper of a speeding car has recently enraged people around the world.  Thousands followed the story on Facebook, petitioned the Victoria (Australia) Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to seize the bird, and called for the arrest (and worse!) of the owner.  But the story developed new wrinkles, and it continues to grow stranger as time goes on… Read More »

Most parrot owners firmly believe that their pets understand at least some of what they say.  My own experience also indicates that this is true – there are just far too many examples of parrots’ utterances fitting the situation to be mere coincidence.  Then, of course, there was the famous Alex, an African Grey Parrot whose amazing learning abilities shocked even seasoned animal behaviorists (please see article below).  A recent study took an interesting new approach to analyzing parrot speech, and yielded some surprising findings. Read More »

The Kiwi, New Zealand’s national bird, is the ultimate avian oddball.  Kiwis are round in shape, lack visible wings and have spiky, hair-like feathers; unlike other birds, their nostrils are located at the ends of their long, slender bills, and they have a well-developed sense of smell.  Apparently, however, such distinguishing features were not enough to suit Manukura, a Kiwi that hatched in May, 2011 at the Pulcaha Nature Reserve…he is all white, as well!  Manukura, whose name, means “Of Chiefly Status” in a local indigenous language, is a Northern Brown Kiwi, Apteryx mantelli, one of 5 Kiwi species found on New Zealand. Read More »

Owls are great favorites of mine, and I’ve had the good fortune to work with and observe many species in both captivity and the wild (please see articles below).  One of my most memorable wild owl experiences occurred, surprisingly, in the Bronx, when I was but 6 years old.  A huge Snowy Owl perched on the roof of my home for 4 hours, awing me as had nothing else.  I quickly learned that Snowy Owls travel south from their Arctic haunts when their primary prey (a small rodent known as the Lemming) is in short supply.  Now biologists are finding that the close ties between Lemmings and Snowy Owls may provide important information concerning climate change. Read More »

Hot on the heels of an Egyptian Cobra that recently escaped its Bronx Zoo enclosure, a Peahen has now (May 10, 2011) gone one better and is hiding out somewhere in the neighborhood near the zoo.  The zoo’s Peafowl range freely on its grounds, and can fly, but in all my years working at there none “decided” to leave.  This, and some newly discovered information on Peafowl mating behavior, sparked today’s article. Read More »