That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

Today I’d like to take a look at how this most desirable of parrot pets gets along in its natural habitat.

Range

The gray parrot may be found across the breadth of central Africa, along, above and below the equator, and on islands in the Gulf of Guinea.  The huge range extends from Guinea Bissau on the west coast to Cameroon and continues southeast to Kenya in East Africa and south to northern Angola.  Three subspecies have been described, but there are questions as to their validity.

Habitat

The gray parrot is a bird of moist lowland forests and coastal mangrove swamps, but also forages in wooded savannahs and cultivated areas.  Flocks of up to 200 individuals roost together in very tall trees, preferably located in forest clearings or on small river or lake islands.  Tall forest-edge trees are also utilized.

Feeding Behavior

Flocks of African gray parrots depart for their feeding grounds earlier than do most birds, flying very high and fast while calling loudly.  The parrots take regular routes to and from favored feeding grounds, and stay to the uppermost branches of the trees while foraging.  They tend to climb rather than hop or fly from branch to branch when feeding.  Gray parrots are difficult to approach when feeding, and very shy in general.

Oil palm nuts are a favored food, but a wide variety of other nuts, fruits, seeds and berries are taken.  They are rarely observed on the ground, but flocks in West Africa sometimes raid maize fields.  This, along with the reported presence of quartz in the stomach of some individuals, indicates that they may leave the treetops on occasion.

Reproduction

The breeding season apparently varies in accordance with local conditions, as eggs have been reported in March, June and July through September in different regions.  Gray parrots favor nest cavities that are located 90 feet or more above the ground.  Suitable nest sites are likely a major limiting factor on population levels.

Population Status

Wild populations are everywhere in decline due to deforestation and collection for export.  The gray parrot is considered to be “Near Threatened” by the IUCN and is listed on Appendix II of Cites.

An article on the habits and status of gray parrots in the wild is posted at:

http://www.conabio.gob.mx/institucion/cooperacion_internacional/TallerNDF/Links-Documentos/Casos%20de%20Estudio/Birds/WG6%20CS1.pdf

 

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 the difficulties involved in preparing certain diets from scratch.

Today I’d like to recount what it was like to be a bird keeper assigned to prepare food for the huge collection of insectivorous birds at New York City’s Bronx Zoo.

Birds and Bird Keepers Must Eat Early

I rose at 3:20 AM (despite the dreadful hour, I awoke hungry and so allowed time for feeding myself before even thinking about birds of any sort!), and arrived at the zoo by 5:15 AM or so.  The walk from my car to the World of Birds took me along the Bronx River, and my arrival at the door was often delayed by the parade of creatures out and about at that time – perhaps a family of striped skunks, or any of the 265+ bird species recorded nearby.

Cooking and Mixing

The first order of business was cooking 80 pounds of horsemeat which, I must admit, smelled quite sweet and roused me to hunger once again. I also hard-boiled 60 dozen eggs, which were then ground (with the shells) and, along with vitamin and mineral supplements, mixed with the meat.

Diets for individual exhibits and birds were posted over the mixing table, on a board that measured about 18′ x 3′.  Individual ingredients were then added to the pans, as per the needs of the various species – mealworms, newly molted mealworms, blueberries, mixed fruits, chopped vegetables and innumerable other ingredients all had a place.

Delivering the Food

We kept a great many mixed species exhibits, so food pan placement was of paramount importance. Some pans went to areas accessible only to tiny birds; others went in wire cages that functioned as traps, allowing the keepers to capture birds needing attention, while many were positioned so as to afford the public a good view of the feeding birds.

Without carful attention to such details, birds in large exhibits often become malnourished.  Oddly enough, the most dominant individuals often fare the worst, as they select only favored treats, such as mealworms and crickets…leaving the others to consume the more nutritious basic diet.

An Array of Other Foods

Diets for specialized feeders – nectar for hummingbirds and sunbirds, nuts and fruits for cassowaries, fish for bald eagles, mash for flamingos, rodents and insects for burrowing owls, and so forth – came next…more about that in the future.

Please check out my other articles on bird nutrition:

Grit and Gizzards – how birds digest seeds

Feeding Insects to Pet Birds – useful products designed for reptiles

Iodine Deficiency (Avian Goiter, Thyroid Hyperplasia) in Parrots, and Other Cage Birds

Product Review: Vitakraft’s Sprout Pot – a Convenient Method of Supplying Your Birds with Valuable Nutrients

Sprouting Seeds at Home: A Useful Method of Providing Pet Birds with Nutritious Treats

Pet Birds and Plants, Part I & II – avoiding toxic species

 

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

 

An interesting perspective on feeding birds and other animals at Australia’s Taronga Park Zoo is posted at:

http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/future/Transcripts/s1053563.htm

Peer into a nest containing hungry Estrildid (order Estrildidae) finches and you may be surprised by the array of colors and odd tongue and mouth markings that greet you.

Mouth Adornments in Three Common Finches
Gouldian finch chicks sport bright blue and yellow nodules in their capacious gapes. Like those of related species, these reflect what little light is available in the dark nest hollow, and no doubt guide the parents during feeding.

Zebra finches take the strategy a bit further…in addition to black and yellow markings in the mouth, their tongues bear distinctive nodules that move about as the chicks beg for food.

The colorful firetail finch parent is guided to its chicks even before they open their mouths, as each bears a stark white flange of skin along the sides of the bill. Once opened, the mouths reveal a series of bright yellow and black nodules.

Deceiving Parasites?
In addition to their obvious role in garnering a meal, mouth markings may serve to deter parents from feeding the young of brood parasites – birds which lay their eggs in the nests of other species, leaving the chicks to be reared by unwitting foster parents.

Indeed, species whose chicks have distinctive mouth markings often make poor foster parents in captivity (fostering is commonly used when parents reject young, or if eggs are pulled in order to stimulate a second clutch). Zebra finches, for example, often reject the chicks of other species, and may even fail to properly feed their own albino or pale-colored offspring (such chicks often have indistinct mouth markings).

Birds have innumerable strategies to assure that their chicks reach adulthood…please pass along your own thoughts and questions.

The abstract of an article that proposes interesting theories for the development of mouth markings is posted at:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/4462l15300172428/

Image referenced from Wikipedia creative Commons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:IMG_2535_1000_crop.jpg

Recently I wrote about the nutritional value of seed sprouts, and highlighted Vitakraft’s Sprout Pot, a most convenient way of growing them (please see below). Today I’d like to describe a method of sprouting additional types of seed at home.

Seeds to Use
The seeds chosen for spouting should be fresh and be comprised of as wide a range of plant species as possible. A simple way to achieve this end is to utilize Kay tee’s Forti-Diet Safflower Seed Blend as the basis of your new “garden”. You can also purchase a wide variety of seeds from most health food stores. Particularly nutritious, and favored by many birds, are safflower, lentils, mung beans, sunflower, wheat berries, barley, buckwheat, popcorn, brown rice, oats and wheat – but there are many others as well.

Producing and Using Sprouts
You will need to rinse the sprouts several times each day, so they should be grown in a colander or other porous container. Then simply proceed as follows:

Rinse the seeds and remove those that are broken or damaged.
Soak in water overnight.
Spread seeds on a colander and place in a dark, well-ventilated location.
Rinse 2-3 times each day; discard moldy seeds.
Shoots will appear in 1-3 days.
Drain to dry and serve.

Unused sprouts will keep well in a refrigerator for several days. You can also dry the sprouts in an oven (use lowest setting) and later re-hydrate or feed to your pets as is.

Additional Notes and Cautions
A wide variety of animals relish sprouts – try them on cats, tortoises, herbivorous lizards, red-eared sliders, hamsters, gerbils, chipmunks or other pets you may have.

I have not experienced any mold-related problems while sprouting seeds, but if this or bacterial contamination is a concern, you can add grapefruit extract to your soak water.

Ventilation is extremely important…the sprouts will invariably develop mold if kept in a closet or similar location. Try using a shelf blocked off by a cloth if you have difficulty finding a dark, well-ventilated site.

Popcorn needs to soak for 18 hours before being set out for sprouting; buckwheat only ½ hour. Overnight works well for most other seeds.

Some hobbyists have reported that fava, black, kidney, lima, pinto, navy and similar beans have caused digestive upset in pet birds, while others note no problems at all. I have used lima and kidney beans for eclectus parrots without incident.

You can read more about the nutritional value of sprouts, and how to grow them using the VitaKraft Sprout Part in my article entitled Product Review: Vitakraft’s Sprout Pot – a Convenient Method of Supplying Your Birds with Valuable Nutrients.

Normal Noise
Incessant screaming is the most common and serious problem complained of by parrot owners. Of course, one must first distinguish between normal and abnormal vocalizations. Having observed a number of parrot species in the wild, and worked with many more in zoos and aviaries, I can assure you that almost all are extremely noisy creatures. Noise-making is therefore not always indicative of a problem – in fact, even with much experience, I am still surprised at the racket that free-living parrots raise. Simple put, parrots are not for everyone, and no amount of training or bonding will change their basic nature.

Bear in mind also that parrots are not suited by nature to live alone. No matter how much time you spend with your bird, compared to its ideal, natural situation, it is living alone. Again I think back to wild parrots I have observed – they are almost always preening, squabbling or otherwise in physical contact with one another. Of course, certain species tend to be quieter than others, but individual birds of any type can be problematical.

What Not To Do
A parrot that screams for hours on end, or whenever you leave the room, is not exhibiting normal behavior. Assuming that the bird is healthy and not fearful of anything, screaming is most likely a call for attention. Do not reinforce the behavior by responding, as parrots are very quick to learn what works and what doesn’t. Never scream back (tempting as that may be!) – your bird will be happy for the response and will respond in kind. Physical punishments – i.e. tapping the beak or squirting water – never work with birds. Covering the cage is only a temporary solution, and may bring on other problems due to the disruption of the bird’s light/dark cycle (just ask anyone whose work shift swings from day to night).

Getting to the Root of the Problem
If your parrot screams when left alone despite getting a great deal of socialization time, look for a reason other than attention-getting as a root of the problem. Perhaps the bird is being frightened by something of which you are unaware. One Manhattanite was surprised to discover that the source of her bird’s distress was a red-tailed hawk that alighted daily on a nearby tree and peered at the parrot for a few minutes. Raccoons or cats that have an eye on your bird will make a “window check” part of their daily routine, and may program your parrot to scream in anticipation of their visits.

If your pet has been adopted, perhaps a clue form its past will help. You will likely not be able to make much headway in this situation unless you are able to speak with the former owner – parrots have long memories, and sometimes make associations that might not make sense to us. If the parrot is fearful of some real or imagined danger, its screaming may occur even in absence of the threatening object or situation.

A Useful Technique
The trick is to give the parrot attention when it is not screaming. One technique that often works over time (the key words here being “over time”) is to respond to the screaming with a low, soothing sound (easier said than done, I know!). Once the parrot picks up and mimics this sound, reward it with attention immediately. Eventually, your bird may learn to use the new noise to attract you…..assuming you continue to ignore the screaming. As the key here is consistency, you must be able to spend a good deal of time near the bird if this tactic is to work.

Above all, please remember that, charming and intelligent as your parrot may be, it is first and foremost a bird, and its behaviors are in no way comparable to what a person might do in similar circumstances. Trying to understand its actions in any context other than the natural history of a parrot will frustrate and confuse both you and your pet. Read as much as you can about parrots in the wild and captivity, and try to apply the facts you learn to your own unique situation.

 

Noise potential and other factors to consider before becoming a parrot owner are explored in an article on the web site of the Wisconsin Bird Lover’s Club:
http://www.wibirdloversexoticsclub.org/