That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

Volunteer participants in Project Feederwatch, the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count and similar efforts have been providing ornithologists with much-needed data for decades.  It’s simple to get involved, and there’s still time to help out in this winter’s programs (please see article below).  Today I’d like to summarize some results from both this winter and last.

Project Feederwatch

Overseen by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and several Canadian organizations, Project Feederwatch attracted 15,699 participants last winter (2009-2010).  Altogether, 112,590 lists, documenting a staggering 5,855,881 individual birds, were submitted.

California and the Southwest

Pine Siskins, Pine Grosbeaks and Redpolls, which often move as winter arrives, were quite scarce; this was likely due to the availability of food in Canada.

Leading all species in the region’s counts were House Finches, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Mourning Doves, Western Scrub Jays and White-Crowned Sparrows.  Steller’s Jays and Cooper’s and Sharp-Shinned Hawks (both of which visit feeders in search of prey) were less in evidence than usual.

Lesser Goldfinches, Ruby-Crowned Kinglets and introduced Eurasian Collared Doves were seen in near-record numbers, while populations of Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Pine Siskins and Purple Finches seem to have declined.

The Northeast

Chickadees, Mourning Doves, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Downy Woodpeckers and Blue Jays maintained their traditional “top 5” status, but all were seen in less-than-expected numbers.

Brown-Headed Cowbirds and Purple Finches were not abundant, and Redpolls were nearly absent.  On a positive note, Northern Flickers, Chipping Sparrows, and Eastern Bluebirds seem to be on the increase.  The introduced Eurasian Collared Dove continues to expand its range.

Please see the report below for summaries of counts held in other parts of the USA and Canada.

New York State

I hope you’ll pardon my emphasis on my home state… While NYC may not seem ideal bird-counting territory, the grounds of the Bronx Zoo, Central Park and other hotspots have yielded over 250 species each.  Having haunted such places since childhood, I’ve seen a good many, including such notables as Long-Eared Owls and Bald Eagles.

The frigid environs of Albany would seem as forbidding to birds as does the Bronx, but here again there were many surprises.  The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s New Year’s Day Count revealed range expansions for Tufted Titmice and Northern Cardinals, both of which were absent from the region 50 years ago.  Red-backed Woodpeckers and Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, first observed in 1989 and 2008, respectively, seem to be there to stay.

Volunteer bird-watchers amass reams of data that could not be gathered b any other means…and all of it is used by ornithologists to track the health of native bird populations. 

Further Reading

Project Feederwatch Results

How Birders can Contribute to Conservation

Video: Cooper’s Hawk on patrol at bird feeder

Steller’s Jay image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Jerry Keenan

Blue is an uncommon color in the avian world, and even more so among those birds that are kept in captivity.  When blue does occur, it is usually quite startling – Blue Jays, for example, rarely fail to draw attention; in fact, a co-worker reported that a pair had long been the star attraction of the Moscow Zoo’s Bird House.  Today I’d like to introduce one of the few “all blue” birds available to hobbyists in the USA, the Blue Gray Tanager, Thraupis episcopus. 

Classification

Blue Gray Tanagers are classified in the family Thraupidae, members of which range throughout North, Central and South America.  Many, such as the Scarlet Tanager (please see photo), are brilliantly colored.  US hobbyists may not keep native species, but the Blue Gray is legal, and captive-bred specimens are often easy to find. Read More »

Please see Part 1 of this article for a discussion of the importance of offering your finches more than a simple “seed-only” diet.  Today I’d like to suggest some foods that will help to keep your birds in good health and brilliant color, and which may encourage breeding.

Live Insects and other Invertebrates

Insects and other invertebrates are essential for most finches, and critical during the breeding season. I’ve always maintained insect traps, such as the Zoo Med Bug Napper, to help meet the needs of my finches. 

Try collecting small grasshoppers, crickets, sow bugs, beetles, flies, termites, grubs and moths.  Please see my articles on Collecting Feeder Insects to learn more about increasing dietary variety.  Consider raising mealworms as well, so that you’ll always have a supply of nutritious pupae and newly-molted grubs on hand. Read More »

The Black-Chinned Yuhina, Yuhina nigrimenta, is one of the few small non-seedeaters that have gained favor in private bird collections.  While its dietary needs are not easy to meet, the Yuhina is an excellent choice for experienced keepers looking for an unusual, active bird that is not often seen in US collections.

Natural History

The Black-Chinned Yuhina is classified as an Old World Babbler, Family Timaliidae.   Several of its relatives, including the Pekin Robin and the Whiskered Yuhina (please see photos), are popular in the zoo and pet trades, while others are scarcely studied; new species are described each year. Read More »

In years past the maniacal call of the Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, was often used as a backdrop for movies set in “the African jungle”…despite the fact that the bird dwells in dry, open woodlands, and even cities, in Australia.  I had always been fascinated by our own Belted Kingfisher, and longed to meet this largest member of the Kingfisher Family (Alcedinidae) in person.  I was surprised when my chance came well before I began working in zoos – on a visit to a private bird-keeper near NYC!

Not So Wild After All

It seems that Laughing Kookaburras are well-established in private aviculture in the USA, and not that hard to come by.  This makes sense – they are impressive, interesting birds that tame easily – but it first came as a surprise to me as they seem so “wild”.

But it turns out that they are not all that “wild” after all…in their native Australia, suburban Kookaburras often swipe sizzling-hot meat from barbeque grills!  A few albinos have even turned up, and a relative, the gorgeous Blue-Winged Kookaburra, Dacelo leachi, is also occasionally offered for sale.

Keeping Kookaburras

I cared for a pair of Laughing Kookaburras for some years, and found them to be most delightful and interesting.  They became quite docile, were eager to feed from the hand, and always greeted me with a scaled-down laugh – a “chuckle”, if you will – when I arrived.

While usually reserved for announcing their territory, Kookaburras also give their trademark call when excited.  When I wanted the Kookaburras to perform for visitors, I had merely to show them a treat and then make a show of walking away with it…or, worse yet, offering to their neighbor, a cantankerous Cassowary (they did indeed seem jealous!).

Both would cock their heads at me in that most beguiling way they have, and then let loose with a barrage of hysterical calls.  Kookaburras perch very upright and with chests “puffed out”, as do all kingfishers, but my pair seemed to sit even “prouder” when they had “forced” me to part with a few mice (their favorite).

Diet

My Kookaburras lived well into their 20’s on a diet comprised of mice, earthworms, locusts, chicks, hard-boiled eggs, fish and crayfishes.  Wild Kookaburras also take snakes, lizards and frogs.  Many keepers provide raw meat or commercial Bird-of-Prey Diet, but whole animals are preferable foods by far.

Cautions

I feel that Laughing Kookaburras are well-worth your time if you can properly provide for them.  Despite their fine points, however, Kookaburras are not for everyone.  They stand almost 20 inches high and have a broad wingspan…no indoor parrot cages for these brutes!

Height – 15 feet or more – is especially important in their aviary…like all kingfishers, Kookaburras hunt by plunging down on their prey from above.  And their calls, which carry very far, are a force to be reckoned with.

Some Natural History

The 4 Kookaburra species (the taxonomy of a 5^th is in question) are classified as “Forest Kingfishers”, and placed within the subfamily Daceloninae.  The common name is derived from the Wiradjuri People’s term for their unique call.

Unlike their relatives, most Kookaburras frequent dry habitats.  The Laughing Kookaburra is much loved in its native eastern Australia, and has been introduced to southwestern Australia, Tasmania and Kawau Island (New Zealand).

Further Reading

Kookaburra Natural History (National Zoological Park).

Video: tame Kookaburra laughing it up  

Laughing Kookaburra image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Richard Taylor