PsittaScene

I N T H I S I S S U E

Fly Free - EU Extends Import BanBlue-throated Macaws: the 2005 Breeding Season February 2006February 2006

Fly Free continuedEU extends temporary ban, sparinganother million wild birdsBy JAMIE GILARDIWe were positively thrilled last October when we heard that the European Union hadhalted all bird imports for a month. Not only would this decision alone save manythousands of wild birds from trapping and its horrible consequences, but it raised theissue at the very highest levels of whether commercial trapping should continue at all.When that first month’s ban was extended to the end of January 2006 - another twomonths of zero imports - our delight was magnified further. The extension providedan opportunity to expand the discussion to include the conservation and welfareimpacts of the trade as well as the disease risks dominating the news.As a coalition of organizatinos working onthis campaign, we suddenly found ourselvesin the position to provide various reviewpanels in the UK and EU governments withsubstantive science and data on the wildbird trade. As PsittaScene readers are wellaware, we’ve been carrying on about thisissue for quite some time. So we’ve beenthrilled and quite busy attempting to makeas forceful and well-documented a case aspossible to the appropriate authorities.

In the mean time, the month of January wasfast disappearing as the deadline approached.Rumours of re-opening trade with much ofthe world notwithstanding, we were greatlyrelieved when EU CommissionerKyprianou, who heads the DirectorateGeneral for Health and ConsumerProtection, announced their decision toextend the temporary ban for an additionalfour months – through the end of May!

As many of you will have seen, we’ve beenrunning a counter to track the number ofbirds trapped for the European market

starting when we submitted the Wild BirdDeclaration to the EU in December 2004(see http://birdsareforwatching.org). Onthe day of the announcement of the ban inOctober, that counter had climbed to wellover three million birds! Following thevisionary suggestion from DuncanMcNiven at the RSPB, we decided that itwould be timely to start that clock over, butthis time to have it count the number ofwild birds NOT trapped for the EU marketsince the start of the ban. As of today, thatfigure now reads 1.3 million birds andcounting. By the end of May, it will bewell over two million birds spared by thistemporary ban alone.

With the outpouring of support from WPTmembers, parrot lovers, and a growingnumber of conservation and welfareorganizations from the world over, I thinkwe can and should be elated by this trulyastounding outcome. Rest assured we willwork very hard in the coming monthstoward the ultimate goal of makingthis a permanent state of affairs.

School children at the Nappi Primary School in Guyana proudly show off their newTradeBands donated by Foster Parrots. The class has an ongoing partnership withElisabeth Morrow School in Englewood, New Jersey, USA.

Photo: M

arc Johnson, Foster Parrots

2 ■ PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006

PsittaScenePsittaScene

Volume 18 Number 1Volume 18 Number 1

Magazine of the World Parrot TrustGlanmor House, Hayle, Cornwall,TR27 4HB, UK

CONTENTSFly free continued ..........................................2Trading parrots revisited .............................. 3Blue-throated Macaw breeding highlights.. 4-8Advancing the knowledge ofNew Zealand’s Red-crowned Kakariki ..........9Observations of the Yellow-crested Cockatoo..........................10-11WPT USA moves to Florida! ......................11A new hybrid population near Arusha ..........12The dove, the shearwater, themockingbird and the parakeet ......................13Military Macaw nesting cliff in Mexico ......14What to do about the flu, part 3 ..................15Ten easy steps to avoid bird flu ....................15Flu leaflet ......................................................16Psitta News ..............................................16-18WPT USA wins IAATE Award ....................19WPT general info ..........................................19Parrots in the wild - Socorro Parakeets ........20

The World Parrot Trust does not necessarily endorse anyviews or statements made by contributors to PsittaScene.It will of course consider articles or letters from anycontributors on their merits.Anyone wishing to reprint any articles in full or in partseen in this magazine needs permission from the author/photographer and must state that it was copied fromPsittaScene.All contents © World Parrot Trust

Cover Picture By © LUIZ CLAUDIO MARIGOwww.lcmarigo.com.br

A pair of Blue-throated Macaws at play.Photographed by Brazilian wildlifephotographer Luis Claudio Marigo during the2005 breeding season. Marigo is preparing abook that will feature photos of every macawspecies in the wild. Blue-throats were the lastspecies on his list, decent photos of which eludedhim on two previous visits to the Beni, Bolivia.We’ll keep you posted on the progress of hisbook which he intends to publish independently.

Photo: M

arc Johnson

Trading parrots revisitedcan ex-trappers develop alternatives toharvesting wild birds?By JAMIE GILARDIIt's always hard to predict all the consequences of any given action, particularly whenit involves international trade. When the USA stopped importing virtually all wildbirds in the early 1990’s, the goal was to stop destructive harvesting of these birds andassosiated population declines throughout the world. There were a number ofunintended consequences of that action, one being that illegal trade declined with theend of the legal trade, and another was that the prevalence of common diseases inAmerican aviculture declined as well. Of course, not all of these consequences aregood for everyone involved, and that is certainly the case for the individuals who, untillast October, were supplying the EU with millions of wild birds. As the EU then hadover 90% of the existing trade, their market disappeared overnight and hadimmediate ramifications not just for the birds, but to the people who trap them andothers along the trade chain.

Our concern at the World Parrot Trust isprimarily for the birds and we remainenormously enthusiastic about the fact thateven this temporary ban is already savingmillions of wild birds. But we also careabout the people who share the samehabitats with these birds, particularly sincemany of them live very close to the edge ofextreme poverty and even starvation. Andwhilst we are very supportive of ecotourismwhich effectively supports conservation andlocal communities, we also recognize thatthis solution isn’t always feasible.

In our last issue of PsittaScene, MarcJohnson reported on a program in Guyanawhich is currently developing a rainforestecotourism program. The hope is that thefinancial benefits of the tourism willprovide a direct replacement for theeconomic costs to the local community ofending their harvests of wild parrots. Uponlearning that the same communities werealso developing some parrot-related crafts,it occurred to us that we might have anopportunity to connect parrot lovers withex-parrot trappers. Because trappers haveto work quite hard to catch wild parrots andthey don't even make much money whenthey succeed, we thought it might be worthtrying to replace some of their birdharvesting losses with carved parrot profits.One of the fun parts of this story has to dowith the history and natural history ofrubber itself. When the first Europeansarrived in the new world, they foundindigenous people making bouncy balls andwaterproof shoes out of a strange newmaterial made from the sap of a uniquetree. Over the next few centuries, rubber(named in English for its ability to “rub”out pencil marks) became extremelyimportant to western civilization. Indeedwild rubber was gradually replaced by

plantation rubber as vast tracts of rubbertrees were planted all across the tropics,including European colonies in southeastAsia and later Africa (on a personal note,my grandfather, who originally hailed fromShetland, spent many years in Indonesia asa “rubber planter”, consequently my motherwas born on the island of Sumatra).

So, what does this have to do with parrots?As it turns out, back in South America, oneof the preferred food items of theubiquitous Blue and Gold Macaw (Araararauna-featured on our last cover) turnsout to be the seeds of the rubber tree. Thisis the very same species, Heveabrasiliensis, which produces the latex sapwhich is the source of virtually all naturalrubber. The large seeds, which are the sizeof macadamia nuts, are actually loadedwith a cyanide producing compound, sothey are quite unpleasant for humans to eat,but the macaws apparently love them.

Marc learned that the natives in Guyana arestill making little objects out of naturalrubber, and in fact, they are carving theminto parrots, toucans and other birds. Ourhope is that Trust members and supportersmight be eager to support thesecommunities which have recently weanedthemselves off profits from wild birdharvests, and enjoy owning one or a few ofthese simple hand-carved parrots madefrom natural wild-harvested rainforestrubber.

As these are handmade and every carvedparrot is original, we hope you’llunderstand that these are highly variableand the one you receive may look differentfrom what is pictured here. Like mostparrots, these appear most comfortable inlarge groups, so we encourage you to buy awhole flock!

The carvings can be purchased via the UKand US offices (listed p19) for the sum of£3 / $5 each or 5 parrots for £12 /$20.

George Tancredo, master balata (latex)artisan sits at his workbench withmany of his beautifully crafted“rubber” parrots.

Photo: Jam

ie Gilardi

PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006 ■ 3

The forests of Nappi are dotted withbalata (commonly known as latex orrubber trees) which have been tapped formany generations and some of which arehundreds of years old. The scars of pasttapping reaching 30 or 40 feet up thetrunks of some of the larger trees. Oncethe source for all commercial rubberproducts these trees now serve as arenewable resource for many artisans inthe Rupununi region of Guyana. One ofthem being George Tancredo. Georgewas one of the first balata artists in thevillage of Nappi. Having started at theage of 21 he has now been working withbalata for almost 40 years. Sinceworking with Foster Parrots he is, forthe first time in his life, now enjoyingcontinuous employment and his successhas encouraged several others (includingseveral younger villagers) to follow inhis footsteps. George is also in theprocess of building a structure that willserve as a new studio and teachingfacility for the arts and crafts of theRupununi.

team was Benjamin Oliveira, a thesisstudent from the Universidad Autónoma delBeni, the local university in Trinidad (thecapital of the Beni department where Blue-throats are found). Benjamin was aninteresting case because although a vetstudent, he wanted to do his thesis researchon Blue-throat recovery efforts. I wasgrateful for his presence as not only did hisvet skills come in handy looking afterhorses, but his physical strength literallygot us (and the truck!) out of the muck onnumerous occasions. Despite his largestature, he’s one of the gentlest, most laid

Saving Bolivia’s Blue-throated Macawhighlights from the 2005 breeding seasonBy TOA KYLE

When I was in graduate school in thelate ’90s, there were frequent classroomdiscussions about the wisdom of mostconservation efforts. In short, most of uswere critical of the millions of dollarsbeing spent on individual species whenthe focus should be on preserving theecosystems in which threatened specieslive. In theory, by preserving the naturalprocesses that run a system, one canbetter conserve the species found withinthem (saving time and money along theway). Almost a decade later and into mythird season of nest work with Blue-throated Macaws (Ara glaucogularis), Ican see that possessing decent tracts ofhabitat doesn’t necessarily guaranteespecies’ recovery. This is especially truefor Blue-throats, when, at times, it isnatural forces themselves that arehampering the birds’ attempts atreproduction.Each field season I’ve worked on has beenhighlighted by the various challenges thatconfront each breeding pair. My firstseason in 2003, it was nest competitionfrom larger species, as over half thepotential nests we found were taken over byBlue and Gold Macaws as time progressed.The following year most of the nests werelost due to predation. This current seasonhas been overshadowed by the elements, asa severe drought was followed by a monthof torrential rainfall. Although it is neverclear-cut to ‘blame the weather’ for foilednesting attempts, there’s no denying thatweather patterns played a role in thenumber of nest failures that were observedthis past season. In this article I discuss theadvances and setbacks in the 2005 breedingseason and why the later emphasizes theneed to intensify our efforts to bring wild

Blue-throated Macaws back from the brinkof extinction.

One of the challenges for this past seasonwas getting more people into the field tokeep better tabs on Blue-throat nestingattempts. In previous field seasons wefound that our team of three people simplywasn't sufficient to adequately monitorwidely dispersed Blue-throat nests. Wewere able to get more participants on theproject in 2005 for two main reasons, thefirst being the purchase of a much-needed4x4 vehicle to transport people and gearinto the field (a special thanks go to theKeith Ewart Charitable Trust and GerardJohnson, through the WPT-UK office, forsecuring the funds to make this happen!).The second factor was a web posting forproject volunteers. I can appreciate thevalue of using volunteers because I got myfirst start with parrot conservation on theCosta Rican Great Green Macaw (Araambigua) project in 1997. While somevolunteers participate to visit differentnatural settings and cultures, others use theopportunity as a prelude to graduate studiesor even to generate similar programs intheir home countries.

As it was the first time I’d hired volunteers,I was overwhelmed by the response Ireceived. I posted an ad on two fieldworkjob sites that quickly got posted onnumerous other sites by people helping to“spread the word”. In the end over 60people applied to the project, the majorityof whom were young biologists. We endedup having 11 people on board this season,hailing from nine countries (half of whichwere from Latin America), a veritable ‘UN’of Blue-throated Macaw conservationists.A most welcome addition to this year’s

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Travel in the Beni is always an adventure.Even in the height of the dry season, westill managed to get the truck stuck.

Photo: L

uiz Claudio M

arigoP

hoto: Luiz C

laudio Marigo

An adult Blue-throat perched at theentrance of the nest cavity. Upon arrivaland departure, the adults often remain inthis posture scanning the area around thenest, presumably taking note of otherparrots and potential sources of danger.

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back Bolivians I’ve known. He’s also thefirst of what will be an annual presence ofBolivian students on the project.

Our 2005 field season started in earlyAugust under white, smoke-filled skies. Amajor drought hit the region from May toSeptember. Although this periodcorresponds to the dry season, whatseparated 2005 from others was its severity.Practically no rain dropped during this fivemonth span, the major consequence beingthe ensuing fires. The grasslands thatdominate the Blue-throats' landscape areroutinely burned in the dry season tostimulate richer forage for livestock. Thelack of any sort of precipitation this pastdry season meant that fires blazedunchecked for five months. The resultingair quality was so poor in Trinidad thatsmall infants needed to be hooked up tooxygen machines at clinics to correctbreathing dysfunctions. Most of the fieldteam had nagging coughs by lateSeptember. While the knee jerk reaction isto blame the cattle industry for all thesmoke, the reality was that conditions wereso dry, even a small fire lit in a remotelocation would have far-reachingconsequences elsewhere. Once started,fires became uncontrollable. Some elderlypeople I talked to in the field told me it wasthe worst drought they'd seen in theirlifetime.

Obviously the drought and fires have bothshort and long term consequences for Blue-throated Macaw’s. In early September Ivisited a site where we'd observed nestingactivity in 2004. To my delight I watched aBlue-throat pair fly into the area of a 2004nest at dawn. After copulating with themale, the female flew into the nest forseveral minutes, sitting in the entrance,looking the part of the expecting mother. Idecided to check on some other sites in thefollowing weeks, later returning to the areaexpecting to find the female in the nest

again, this time on eggs. Instead, Idiscovered that a huge fire had sweptthrough the region only three days prior tomy visit. Although the nest tree was stillstanding, the surrounding forest was ashadow of its former self. The fires alsoheavily damaged the forest islands ofmotacú palms (Attalea phalerata) wherewe'd regularly seen two Blue-throat pairsforaging in the past three seasons. Motacúpalms are the key resource for Blue-throatswhere we work. During this visit, andsubsequent ones throughout the fieldseason, no Blue-throats were seen aroundthe nest, nor the motacú islands. It ishighly likely that the two pairs of macawsabandoned the area due to fire damage.While the immediate effects of fire arevisible in terms of burnt motacú fruits orcollapsed nesting trees, long term effectsremain to be seen. Motacú palms damagedby fire must invest time and energy ingenerating new fronds. This in turndiminishes the amount of fruit that can beproduced, thus reducing the amount of food

resources available to prospective nestingpairs. Fires also destroy motacú saplings,retarding forest regeneration. Blue-throatsmay continue to experience the effects ofthe 2005 fires for years to come.

My aim for this past season was to workwith six nests. This was a reasonable goalconsidering our team of three worked withtwo nests in 2004. Now that we'd tripledthe number of people conducting nestsearches, six nests seemed possible. Onsome level, the goal was achieved. Of the14 potential nests we found (I define apotential nest as any tree cavity Blue-throats guard or enter), six became active.Tragically, five of these nests failed in thelate incubation stage. Reasons for thesefailures were likely multifaceted, thoughthe primary factor was probably heavyrainfall. When the rains finally came to theBeni in late September, they came with afury not seen in years. Over 15,000 ha ofsoya and corn crops were lost in northernSanta Cruz (just south of the Blue-throats’range) due to these rains. A co-worker told

Instead of calling the area by its proper name the ‘Llanos de Moxos’ (Moxos Plains),our team resorted to calling it the ‘Desierto de Moxos’ (Moxos Desert). In my threefield seasons in the Beni I’d never seen conditions so dry and dusty.

Photo: C

harles Hesse

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A common sight in the 2005 breedingseason. Although lit to stimulate moreproductive forage for cattle, fires canactually cause more harm than good bykilling valuable soil bacteria andencouraging the growth of morecompetitive weeds that are inedible tolivestock.

José, a pet Blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva), which are known locally as‘habladores’ (talkers), helps get some drinking water. During the dry season, cleanwater is a scarce resource at sites not possessing wells.

Photo: C

harles Hesse

PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006 ■ 5

me of an occasion when he’d been caughtin one of these severe thunderstorms whileriding on horseback to camp. The force ofthe wind and water coming at him was sopowerful, his horse had to walk sideways tomove forward, during which timelightening continually struck within 50 mof his position. In my colleague's words: “Ithought I was a goner”.

These torrential storms had direconsequences for most of our active nests,of which two-thirds were motacú snags.All of these motacú nests failed. With onesnag, the upper crown actually caved infollowing a storm. The attending pairsubsequently abandoned the nest. To ourdismay, we found a cracked eggshell belowthe tree, suggesting a chick had justhatched around the time of the collapse. Atanother motacú nest, over 70 mm (3inches) of rain fell overnight. The nextmorning, the male of the pair was seenflying to the crown of the snag, peeringinside and continually calling back to thefemale, almost as if coaxing her intoincubating again. The males’ efforts wereto no avail as the nest was abandoned. Asubsequent inspection of the cavity found itto be flooded with two eggs present. Theremaining three nest failures showed asimilar pattern - heavy rains followed byabandonment. Curiously, when thesecavities were later checked no eggs werepresent. We knew that two of these nestshad possessed three eggs each, so it isuncertain if the nests were first flooded,abandoned and then predated, or predatedwhile the female was off the nest.

Ideally we would have liked to have drilleddrain holes in all potential nest cavities.We avoided doing this on the failed nestsfor several reasons. All of these nests werefound after incubation had already started,so we were concerned about causingabandonment by climbing the nests tomake drain holes. We know from the 2004season that abandonment by Blue-throats is

unlikely when they have chicks. Duringincubation however, the threat is likelyhigher as the nesting pair have investedrelatively less time and energy in the nestcompared to a nest containing a chick. Ifthey feel their own safety is in jeopardy dueto the presence of humans, they are morelikely to leave a nest with eggs behind.Thus we decided to be more ‘hands off’

This active Blue-throats’ nest actuallycollapsed after heavy rains. We foundpieces of eggshell below it, a day after ithad been abandoned. Presumably a chickhad just hatched around the time of thestorm.

Photo: L

uiz Claudio M

arigo

This pair of first-year chicks frequented the trees behind one of our field camps. Bothbirds were molting their wing feathers. We saw more first year chicks during 2005 thanany other field season, suggesting that the 2004 breeding season was a good year forBlue-throats. Superficially we know that rainfall was higher in 2004 compared to otherseasons, possibly translating into more food resources and hence more chicks fledging.

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Future cowboys practice calf roping on volunteer Charley Hesse.

Photo: A

lejando Solano

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when it came to incubating nests. Anotherfactor to consider with respect to drainholes in motacú snags is the physicalstructure of the snags themselves. Lackingstrong fronds above, one can not safelysecure a rope over the crown for climbingpurposes. Given the flimsy nature of mostsnags, the nest tree may actually fall overwhen climbing it. We devised a system ofsecuring a bamboo ladder with ropes sothat the weight of the ladder was never indirect contact with the nest. Unfortunately,some nest snags were over 10 m (30 ft)high, taller than the longest bamboo shaftswe could obtain in the area. Aluminum-fiberglass ladders are on the shopping listfor the next breeding season.

If motacú snags are so prone to floodingand collapse, why do Blue-throats selectthem as their nests? It may be that motacúsnags are easier to excavate compared toother tree species, especially after the 2005drought. The inner pith of dead motacúpalms contains dry, loose fibers, easilyremoved by Blue-throats’ claws and beak.I’m told a pair can dig a nest in less than aweek. It is also possible that higher qualitynests found in live hardwood species aredominated by larger birds such as Blue andGold Macaws, thus regulating Blue-throatsto the lower quality motacú nests. Finally,previous logging activity in forest islandsmay have removed hardwood nest cavities,again leaving mainly motacú snags as thesole possibilities for Blue-throat nestingpairs.

Though 2005 had its share ofdisappointments, many positive thingshappened that are worth mentioning.Given that all the Blue-throats we currentlyknow about are found exclusively onprivate lands, namely cattle ranches,cooperation with landowners is key toBlue-throat recovery. With this in mind,this past season was a resounding success.The level of commitment from ranchers atkey sites went above and beyond simplygranting permission to work on their land.On two ranches, land owners actuallyprovided us with our own rooms in theirhouses to work out of, as well as loaning ushorses to get around on. The latter gift wasno small item, since due to the heavy rains,our study area flooded much earlier than inprevious seasons. Without the use of thetruck and motorcycles, horses became

essential in maintaining our field efforts.Another rancher who didn't even haveBlue-throats on his property offered us theuse of his small plane, free of charge, toarrive at an important site. This site wasinaccessible by land due to flooding and itsremote location. That there are concerned,conservation-minded cattle ranchers in theBeni area such as these bodes well for thefuture of Blue-throated Macaws.

By having more people in the field thisseason, the level of information wecollected increased dramatically. Forexample, we now know that the 2004breeding season was a good year for Blue-throat chicks. In previous seasons we'drarely observe more than 3 or 4 first-yearchicks throughout the entire study area.However, this past year we saw a total ofeight chicks north of Trinidad (includingthe two chicks we worked with in 2004)and are aware of at least two chicksentering the smaller population south ofTrinidad. Although at first glance thesenumbers seem low, to see this many wildBlue-throat chicks represents a 'bumpercrop' when one considers that we're awareof only about 100 birds at present. In2004, the total rainfall for the year wasalmost 1,000 mm (36 inches) greater thanfor 2005. Whether this higher level of raintranslates into more chicks entering thewild remains to be seen. We've also begunto learn that Blue-throated Macaw are notas sedentary as previously thought. In pastseasons I could show up at a given forestisland and reliably find a pair of macawsthere. Not so in 2005, as it appeared thatsome birds were shifting territories in

‘Soledad’ at four weeks of age. Soledad is an appropriate name for her, as it means,‘alone or solitary’. Soledad was the only chick our team worked with during what wasa difficult field season weather wise. She fledged successfully January 31st 2006. Aspecial thanks to volunteers Pedro Costa and Ulla Kail for monitoring Soledad’sprogress until fledging.

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A two-day old Blue-throat chick. Thesecond egg never hatched. This nest waspredated in 2004 (by an unknownpredator when the chick was around 8weeks old), so it was rewarding to have itfledge successfully for the 2005 season.

Photo: Toa K

yle

Despite the drought some motacú palmsstill produced large clusters of fruit, onlyto have them destroyed by fire. This palmhad two racimes of fruit burned just asthey ripened. The pulp of motacú fruits isthe preferred food of Blue-throatedMacaws.

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three field seasons and was a wealth ofinformation for what methods havecontributed to that species' remarkablerecovery. The subject of artificial nests is adaunting one though. Pete mentioned thatover 100 different models were testedbefore the Echos finally accepted one. Atthis stage I'm more inclined to carvecavities into existing trees, rather than putup nest boxes. The trick is making thecarving process less labour intensive,possibly by getting solar-charged powertools into the field.

Talking to Pete about the Echo project alsogave me a better perspective on where weare with Blue-throats at present, and wherewe need to go. The situation in Mauritiuswasn't turned around in a couple of years.It was the product of building onexperiences gained year after year. We'veseen that crossing our fingers and hopingthe weather cooperates in future nestingseasons isn't an option. The 2005 seasonhas shown us that nest failure among Blue-throats is much higher than previouslythought. Clearly, even more activemanagement of nests is required, includingstructurally enhancing incubating nests. It'sa 'Catch 22' with respect to abandonmentfears but we've seen that by being overlycautious, nests can and will fail. We aim tolearn from the lessons learned in 2005, withthe goal of tackling the challenges in2006 head on.

This high rate of nest failure helps explainthe rarity of the species and highlights thedifficulties it faces in recovery. It may bein part due to the effects of the maintrapping episodes of the ´70s and ´80s,when hundreds, possibly thousands, ofBlue-throats were removed from the Beni.The ex-trapper I worked with for twoseasons used to tell me of seeing groups of16 Blue-throats together during histrapping days. Today, we're ecstatic to seea flock of half that number. A largerpopulation of Blue-throats is in a betterposition to compete with other macawspecies for choice nesting sites andresources. I've seen examples of this in thefield as a Blue-throat pair tries in vain toward off flocks of 6-8 Blue and GoldMacaws interested in the same nest tree.Presumably these larger groups of Blueand Golds are related birds that aid oneanother in nesting disputes. Lacking thestrength in numbers that Blue and Goldspossess, lone Blue-throat pairs are left withthe remaining, marginally useful nestingsites.

With the concept of poor quality nests inmind, we need to either improve existingnest cavities or provide more artificialcavities that Blue-throats will select overnatural ones. I had the pleasure of workingwith Pete Haverson this season in the Beni.Pete has worked on the Echo Parakeet(Psittacula eques) project in Mauritius for

Digital cameras with decent opticalzooms and image stabilizers now permitus to quickly and reliably ID Blue-throatsin the field by examining feather linepatterns, unique for each individual.We’ll continue to keep track of themovements and survival of knownindividuals (18 identified thus far andcounting).

response to drought and fires. Thisinterplay between habitat quality and thedistribution of birds is an importantparameter that needs to be examined in thefuture, possibly with the use of radiotelemetry to determine where macaws aremoving to once traditional areas areabandoned.

Finally, by having more observers this year,we were able to get a better sense of theextent to which nests fail. In past seasonsthere existed many question marks withrespect to the fates of nests. For example,we'd see a pair guarding a nest, come backin a month to find no further activity at thenest and not know what had happened.This season we started to fill in the blanks,so to speak, including the nests that nevermade it to the incubation stage. One nestwas blown over by strong winds whilebeing excavated (if you guessed this treewas a motacú, you guessed right), anotherthree were taken over by larger birdspecies, two of which by Toco Toucans(Ramphastos toco). While we knewtoucans were nest predators of Blue-throats,we didn't know they were nest competitorsas well.

The more complete information we havefrom this season paints a rather bleakpicture of Blue-throated Macaw nestingsuccess. Of the 14 potential nests welocated, only one fledged a single chick.

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This nest cavity was carved by WPT workers in 2002. It has been guarded annually bya Blue-throat pair since 2003. The pair has significantly expanded the nest entrance sothat both can perch in the entrance. I’m shown here installing a noose for climbingpurposes. Unfortunately no chicks have been known to fledge from this nest, possiblydue to annual nest failure, or worse, the pair are old and beyond breeding condition(yet still follow their instincts to guard and occupy a nest site each year).

By LUIS ORTIZ CATEDRAL and DÌANNE BRUNTONNew Zealand is home to a bizarre collection of parrots. Perhaps the most renownedspecies are the flightless Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) and the inquisitive Kea (Nestornotabilis). Apart from these species, New Zealand holds the most diverse array ofKakariki found anywhere in the world (five species according to molecular studies).Kakariki belong to the genus Cyanoramphus; a group of green, small, long tailedparakeets. Most Kakariki species present a coloured pattern in the face, which ispossibly associated with mate choice. The only exception is the Antipodes IslandsKakariki (C. unicolor), which is uniformly green (as its scientific name indicates).Being isolated from other land-masses for millions of years and lacking predatoryterrestrial mammals, the New Zealand environment favoured strange adaptations inKakariki, such as, the habit of foraging and nesting on the ground. What originallyhelped these species to make use of their habitat became a fatal vulnerability whenexotic animals like rats, cats and stoats were introduced by humans. Of all the parrotgenera present on islands of thesouth Pacific, Cyanoramphus hasexperienced the most extinctions inrecent times.Despite a remarkable reduction in theirformer habitat, some species such asthe Yellow-crowned Kakariki (C.auriceps) and the rare Orange-frontedKakariki (C. malherbi) still persist inmainland forests of New Zealand.Offshore islands free of mammalianpredators have become the laststronghold of the Red-crownedKakariki (C. novaezelandiae), withmainland sightings being an infrequentevent. The Red-crowned Kakariki hasrecently been included as ‘vulnerable’in the IUCN classification system.Efforts have been made to help thespecies recovery. These include eradicationof predators and translocation of foundingpopulations to predator-free islands. Sadly,little is known about the biology of thisspecies. In order to better understand thepuzzling reproductive biology of Red-crowned Kakariki and to obtain valuableinformation to improve conservationpractices we started a research project in2004.

Our study site is Tiritiri Matangi Island, aworld renowned bird sanctuary close toAuckland, the largest New Zealand city.Red-crowned Kakariki were translocated toTiritiri Matangi in the 70's and are nowvery common throughout the island. Thisis a unique site to study Red-crownedKakariki, not only because of theirabundance but also because we canadvance our understanding of the dynamicsof translocated populations. The aims ofour research can be divided into twocategories: theory and conservation. Froma theoretical perspective we are interestedin determining the effects of egg size,clutch size, sex and hatching asynchrony inthe survival of chicks. Our conservationobjectives include describing the nestingbehaviour of Red-crowned Kakariki, thecharacteristics of suitable nesting placesand factors affecting reproductive output.Tiritiri Matangi is also an excellent placefor educational campaigns and increasingpublic awareness of environmental issues.Thousands of school children visit the

island each year and come in closecontact with the Red-crownedKakariki and other remarkablespecies. Our research has receivedgenerous support from differentorganizations worldwide and to allthese, we would like to extend ourgratitude to Tiritiri Matangi Inc.,Fullers Ferries, Kawau Kat Cruises(New Zealand), The Parrot Society(UK), Stiftung Avifauna Protecta(Germany) and Consejo Nacional deCiencia y Tecnologia (Mexico). Wealso thank the World Parrot Trust forthe opportunity to present thisinformation in Psittacene. Throughthis, we would like to attract newdonations that will make it possibleto extend our research and advance

our main goal: the long term preservationof Red-crowned Kakariki. If you want toknow more about our project, don't hesitateto contact us at: The Ecology andConservation Group, Institute of NaturalResources, Massey University, Building 5,Oteha Rohe, Albany Campus, Private Bag102-904, North Shore Mail Centre,Auckland, New Zealand, Emailluiscatedral@gmail.com

A healthy Red-crowned Kakariki chick,two weeks old.

Luis Ortiz Catedral and Dìanne Brunton.

Adult female Red-crowned Kakariki.

Red-crowned Kakariki are commonlyseen foraging in Cabbage trees(Cordyline australis).

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PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006 ■ 9

Advancing the knowledge of NewZealand’s Red-crowned Kakariki

Recent observations of the critically endangeredSulphurea subspecies of Yellow-crested CockatooRawa Aopa Watumohai National Park SE Sulawesi, IndonesiaBy DUDI NANDIKA, S. Si, Department of Biology, As-Syafi'iyah Islamic University, Jakarta, Indonesia

The Lesser Sulphur-crested (or Yellow-crested) Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) is an endangered Indonesian species and one of onlyfive cockatoo species represented on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Thespecies is comprised of four generally accepted races (subspecies): parvula, abbotti,citronocristata and sulphurea .The latter is endemic only to the Indonesian island ofSulawesi (formerly Celebes). Extant studies suggest that although some smallpopulations may exist elsewhere, the remaining cockatoos are mostly confined to twolocations in SE Sulawesi: Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park (RAWNP) and ButonIsland, and a single location in central Sulawesi (Pasoso Island). Of these, RAWNP isclearly the most significant. RAWNP is unique in having 7 ecosystem types, that is:tidal mudflats, mangrove forest, wooded savannas, hill forest, swamp forest, peatswamp and cultivation. In 2000, a team from the Indonesian Forestry Service(PHKA), BirdLife Indonesia, and the NGO YASCITA (Yayasan Cinta Alam-Kendari)team undertook a survey of C. sulphurea sulphurea in selected areas of RAWNP andestimated a total population of perhaps 100 individuals or less. The current study,nearly five years later, represents a follow-up to that study, and was designed to gainnew information into the status and habits of this highly endangered subspecies ofcockatoo.

Population and nestsThe study was conducted starting twice aday, at 5.30 am and 5.00 pm. A total of 37cockatoos were observed in 7 surveyedlocations (28 in forested areas; 9 incultivated areas), yielding a extraordinarilylow average density of 1.3 individual perthousand sq. km., which is much less thaneven another highly endangered subspeciesof C. sulphurea, the Citron-crestedcockatoo C.s. citronocristata. Six apparentcockatoo nest holes were sighted, with atleast two seeming to be active. At one, themated pair could be seen to interactenergetically with crests raised at the

nesthole entrance (see photo). Theapparent nest holes were located inAlstonia scholaris or Parinariumcorimborum trees and were at heights ofapprox. 10, 12, 13, 15, 15, and 20 m.,respectively.

Daily activitiesIn the morning, activities consisted ofperching in trees (43% of time observed),eating (12%), playing (22%) and otheractivities such as moving about (22%),'sun- bathing' in the tree top, preening andvocalizing. In the afternoon, eatingincreased to 30%, whereas perchingdeclined to 27%. Playing decreased, butsocializing increased from 1 to 9% of time.The cockatoo preferred the middle spatialcanopy (mean=61%) followed by using thetop spatial canopy (30%) for performingdaily activities. These percentages formiddle canopy position broke down asfollows: socialization, 100%; eating, 51%;moving about, 79%. When eating fruit andyoung leaves, the cockatoos were situatedin the middle and top spatial strata or end

of branches. Perching at top strata on drybranches predominated during mornings.The middle strata in the canopy seemed tobe a 'pleasurable' place where there isprotection from predators, sun's rays andhostile climate. They used the bottom strataonly for perching and limited movements.The dominant plant species used at theLaea location are Tompira and Bitti (Vitexcoffasus and vitex galabra), Kuiya(Alstonia scholaris), Bamboo (Bamboosaspinosa), Behi spp, and Soasoarate.

Data on the food preferences of Indonesiancockatoos in the wild are limited. Tenspecies of tree, bush or plant were observedto provide food for the cockatoo (Table).

Cockatoos also consume the fruit of talltimber trees such as “kayu besi” (Intsiabijuga) the source of “ironwood” forbuilding and tangkalase, a deciduoushardwood tree. Thus logging might haveadverse effects on cockatoo survival byeliminating food sources and destroyingnesting sites, at least in drought years. Infact, non-structured interviews suggested

No Local Name Scientific Name Part eaten1 Tompira Vitex coffasus Fruit 2 Bitti Vitex galabra Fruit3 Tahulo Mallotus floribundus Young bud leaf 4 Tangkalase Gmelina asiatica Fruit5 Bambu Bamboosa spinosa Flower6 Kayu besi Intsia bijuga Fruit7 Tampate Lagerstoemia foetida Seed8 Soasoarate - Fruit9 Onangki/Kayu raja - Fruit10 Kuiya Alstonia scholaris Young leaf

The Lesser Sulphur-crested cockatoo isone of the species threatened bydeforestation and trapping on Buton.

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Two Lesser Sulphur-crested cockatoosoutside their nesthole with crests raised.

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10 ■ PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006

that it was easier to see these rare birds inthe dry season when cockatoo food wasmore limited and they were likely tofrequent cultivated areas.

Other foods likely eaten, as observed byothers and summarized, include:fruits/seeds of maize (Zea mays); banana(Musa); mango (Mangifera indica); papaya(Carica papaya); fig (Ficus); guava(Psidium guajava); jambu bol (Eugeniamalaccensis); "kedondong batu"; "marangtaipa" ; prickly pear (Opuntia elation);srikaya (Annona squamosa); flowers ofcoconut (Cocos nucifer); tamarind(Tamarindus indica); flowers and fruit ofthe mangrove (Avicennia); fruit ofmarangtaipa (Dehaasia) and young leavesof Sonneratia; and "ninifo", thought to be aCanarium.

Cockatoo were seen to interact with severalnon-psittacine species: Coraciastemminckii, (a purple-winged roller, whichinvaded a cockatoo nest hole, leading tocompetitive fighting); Aplonis panayensis(a Philippine glossy starling, which wasseen to chase a cockatoo); and Spilornisrufipectus (a Sulawesi serpent-eagle, whichalso was observed chasing a cockatoo).

Concluding remarksIt is likely that at most only a few hundredindividuals of the nominate race of C.sulphurea survive in the wild on Sulawesi;the breeding population might be only one-third to one-half as large. Once commonenough to be considered an agriculturalpest, it was one of most available of theworld's cockatoos in the marketplace.Although no attempt was made toreproduce the 2001 study for the sake ofmaking precise analyses of populationtrends, it is clear that the number of birds atthis, its most populous remaining site, isvery low and possibly declining.Continued trapping, plus habitat limitation,now threaten it with extinction and the raceis described as "potentially beyondrecovery" in the Parrot Action Plan. Itwould be a tremendous shame if the worldgave up on this beautiful cockatoo referredto in Indonesia as "kakatua kecil jambul-kuning"-- the little cockatoo with theyellow crest.

AcknowledgementsStewart A. Metz, M.D, Director of TheIndonesian Parrot Project and Project BirdWatch, funded the research. Thanks fortheir help in planning and executing thesurveys to Biology Department of As-Syafi'iyah Islamic University, ProfaunaIndonesia, BirdLife Indonesia and Asia,Yascita, Yari, PHPA and BKSDA ofSoutheast Sulawesi, local people inHukaea-Laea, all friends in JakartaBirdwatcher Community and MahacalaHalualeo University. Special thanksto Dwi Agustina.

As all our USA members are well aware,Joanna Eckles has been ably managingthis large portion of the Trust for goingon seven years now! Having nowthoroughly rebuilt and developed thisbranch - which frequently trades placeswith the UK as the Trust’s largest -Joanna decided it was time to hand thebaton over to someone new.

As luck would have it, our own GlennReynolds - long time Trust supporter,founder and manager of the GoldenConure Fund and until recently a World Parrot Trust Trustee has decided that he'dlike to take on the many and varied responsibilities for the WPT-USA. Glenn justreturned from a fast and furious few days of training in (frigid!) Minnesota to getup to speed as the new WPT administrator.

Joanna will be wearing a new set of hats for us at the Trust, working on a variety ofcommunications tasks including writing and editing work on PsittaScene,communicating with members, donors, and branches, and giving presentations on theTrust at various parrot gatherings. She will also continue to work with our partnersin the Zoo and Veterinary communities. I know we're always asking for yourpatience, but at least for the next month, if you can please bear with us while thistransition is taking place, things should be back to normal - or hopefully better thannormal with both Glenn and Joanna up and running - quite soon.

Joanna (with helperTorianna) and Glenn

got unexpectectedassistance from

Rollx President MikeHarris in the moveto Florida. Rollx is

a Minnesotacompany that

converts vans for thehandicapped. Theycarried all of our

(WPT USA)equipment andsupplies free ofcharge in a van

being transported toFlorida. Their

contribution savedthe Trust

considerable moneyand time which we'dmuch rather spendon Parrots than on

FedEx!

Thank you RollxVans

PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006 ■ 11

WPT-USA movesto Florida!

A new hybrid population of Agapornispersonatus x A. fischeri near Arusha, TanzaniaBy WERNER LANTERMANN

Masked Lovebirds (Agapornis personatus)and Fischer's Lovebirds (Agapornisfischeri) are endemic to Tanzania. Therehave been a few sightings at the northerntanzanian border to Kenya. The release ofcagebirds near big citys,( e.g. Nairobi,Mombasa) and a population at LakeNaivasha, Kenya. The natural distributionof both species comprises huge areas innorthern Tanzania. Until the middle of the20th century they were strictly separatedby ecological barriers. There are a fewferal populations of Lovebirds beyond theformer distribution area, some of them insympatry with the other species mentioned.There are sightings in Dar-es-Salaam,Tanga, Morogoro, Dodoma and Arusha. Atleast the last two are hybrid populations.Most of them are due to the intended orunintended release of cagebirds, but theorigins of the Dodoma and Arushapopulations is questionable.

For Dodoma the few sightings mightsuggest that the Fischer's Lovebirds withinthe area of the Masked Lovebird are eitherwanderers outside their southernmostdistribution or that this species hasextended its natural range to the south in

the last decades. But hybdrids withMasked Lovebirds are not known from thisregion up to now.

The populations in Arusha need morestudy, because they are the only hybridpopulations located within the overlappingarea of both species. So the question is

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Pure Masked Lovebird near its shelter at a tourist hut.

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whether these populations are alsooriginated by the release of cage birds or bynatural hybridisation. This is not easy todetermine, because Arusha is situated at thevery northeastern border of the overlappinghybrid zone.

During the last trip to Tanzania in August2004 the author found a new hybridpopulation on a campsite near MeseraniSnakepark, some 25 km west of Arushatown. Nearly 20 birds were seen there,most of them obviously pure MaskedLovebirds, but some showed signs ofhybridisation with Fischer's Lovebird suchas washed breast colours and obscure headcolours. The birds didn't show any shynessand lived in the trees and shrubs betweenthe tourist camp. Some of them foundshelter under the roofs of tourist huts.Again there is the question about the originof this population. Is there a naturalextension of Fischer's Lovebird distributionto the west? Are there a few wanderers thathybridise with the resident MaskedLovebirds? Or is the establishment of thisrecent hybrid population caused by releasedcagebirds?

At the moment we can only speculate aboutthe answers to these questions. But there isno doubt that there are no more ecologicalor ethological barriers to preventhybridisation of both parrot species inTanzania in the near future.Email: w.lantermann@arcor.de

Pure Masked (right) and hybrid (left) Lovebird at a campside near Meserani Snakepark.

12 ■ PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006

The dove, the shearwater, themockingbird and the parakeetwhy Socorro Island is a global conservation priorityBy JUAN ESTEBAN MARTINEZ GÓMEZSocorro Island is one of the four volcanic islands that form the RevillagigedoArchipelago in the Mexican Pacific. This island lies 460 km SSW off the tip of BajaCalifornia; it has the highest mountain in the Archipelago, Mount Evermann (1100m)and thus hosts the most diverse flora and fauna as well. About 30% of its plants areendemic to the island or the archipelago and all native vertebrates are endemic to thespecies or subspecies level. Consequently, this island has been considered a globalbiodiversity hot spot by Conservation International, a priority endemic bird area ofthe world by Bird Life International and a site of potential imminent extinctions by theAmerican Bird Conservancy and the global Alliance for Zero Extinction. If timelyconservation actions are not taken, four endemic bird species on Socorro willexperience a rapid decline and subsequent extinction in the coming decade. Thesespecies include the Socorro Dove (extinct in the wild already), Townsend's Shearwater(approx. 1000 pairs and long maturation), the Socorro Mockingbird and the SocorroParakeet (Aratinga brevipes)(approx. 500 individuals in both cases).The Island Endemics Foundation andEndémicos Insulares A.C. are spearheadingconservation efforts for the regions bypromoting the reintroduction of the SocorroDove to its ancestral habitat. These effortsinvolved an international partnershipincluding 10 European countries, theUnited States and México. The Frankfurtzoo oversees the European BreedingProgram, in Mexico, the Navy has providedinvaluable support to build state-of-the-artbreeding facilities to create a founderpopulation of Socorro Doves in the wild.

To be successful, conservation efforts mustbe supported by comprehensivemanagement. The Instituto de Biología atMexico's National University isimplementing a reforestation and habitatrestoration program to halt erosion and torestore the southern part of Socorro, nowdegraded by sheep overgrazing, to a stagethat closely resembles its pristineconditions. Germplasm and plants will bedrawn from the Northern part of the island

where sheep have never entered. TheUniversity of Colima and the Grupo deEcología y Conservación de Islas willremove the sheep on the island. TheNational Commission of Natural ProtectedAreas and the Directorship of Wildlife, bothat the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment, will provide their support toaccomplish these goals.

The Socorro Dove Project has triggeredthis international cooperation with anincreasing number of participatinginstitutions and should provide a solidfoundation for the restoration of SocorroIsland's unique flora and fauna. This year,the American Bird Conservancy andConservation International granted fundsto Endémicos Insulares, A. C. to conductbasic monitoring of the Townsend'sShearwater, the Socorro Mockingbird, theSocorro Parakeet and the Socorro Wren (asan indicator of habitat quality) to obtaindemographic benchmarks before restorationefforts are launched. Additional support isrequired to guarantee long-term (5-10years) monitoring of these species toevaluate the success of this ambitiousconservation campaign.

All P

hotos: Juan Cornejo

PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006 ■ 13

Military Macaw nesting cliff inOtachique, Chihuahua, MexicoBy JAVIE CRUZ-NIETO, GABRIELA ORTIZ-MACIEL, MIGUEL CRUZ-NIETO, MANUEL BUJANDA-RICO and ERNESTO ENKERLIN, Photos by JAVIER CRUZ

In the middle the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains innorth-central Mexico lies a unique and sacred place:Otachique. This region harbors ancient culture mummies,cave painting, pottery artifacts, and represents one of theremaining places in Chihuahua, Mexico where MilitaryMacaws still nest.Military Macaws (Ara militaris) are endangered according toMexican government and vulnerable according to IUCN. Themain threats faced by the macaws are the same for nearly allparrots: poaching and habitat destruction.

In 2003, we located a 25 metre (82 ft) high cliff frequented bythese macaws, and since that year, we have been able to surveythe cliff occasionally to determine how many macaws nesteach season. In 2004 we registered 12 active nests, and in2005 this number doubled to 25 active nests.

This nest cliff is located in a canyon approximately 700 metres(0.5 miles) wide by 14km (8.6 miles) in length. The forest iscomposed of mature pines and firs with oaks, some gallerytemperate forest remains. A few Thick-billed parrot(Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) nests are located in the area aswell. The place has a great potential for ecotourism. Localpeople have built cabins and implemented tours for fishing,riding, hiking and camping. Despite its sacredness, we havebeen told that macaws are still shot on occassion, since theyeat peaches grown nearby during their nesting season.

Due to these specific problems faced by Military Macaws inOtachique, our main goal in the coming year will be toevaluate the macaw's productivity and fruit destruction, withthe hope of implementing alternatives to preserve the macawsas well as locals' peach orchards.

This study represents the first Military Macaw conservationwork to be carried out in the State of Chihuahua and a greatopportunity to reconcile conservation needs of themacaws with the agricultural needs of the local people.

14 ■ PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006

What to do about the flu

part threeBy JAMIE GILARDI

Unfortunately after several months ofwhat seemed to be slowing down,H5N1 avian influenza appears to havegained a second wind. In recent weeks,outbreaks of the disease have beenreported in poultry in Nigeria and morerecently in wild swans in centralEurope. Given that the news has beenprogressing rapidly by the day, aquarterly magazine is an ineffective toolto keep members informed of thediseases movements. We encourageyou to pay close attention to local newsand we'll endeavour to update ourwebsite with flu news as it breaks.(http://worldparrottrust.org/flu)

As much of Europe is now (finally)encouraging poultry producers andowners to bring their birds indoors, wehighlight the importance of all birdowners to also take this high-prioritystep at this time. If for some reason itis impossible to bring your birdsindoors, we suggest that you take threesteps to minimize potential exposure toall wild birds.

• Feed and water your birds in a placewhich wild birds can not access.

• Cover your enclosures or aviaries sothat the birds’ living areas are notexposed to birds flying overhead.

• Take whatever steps you can to deterwild birds from the vicinity of yourenclosures. This last step mayinvolve pruning or coveringvegetation which attracts wild birds,using bird netting to cover youraviaries so that wild birds can notenter, moving wild bird feeders awayfrom captive bird areas.

Tragically there have been humancases and fatalities in Turkey, and itwould be foolhardy to expect humancases of H5N1 influenza to stopanytime soon. Consequently, weencourage all people on the continentsof Asia, Africa, and Europe to exerciseextreme caution around wild birdsand areas frequented by wild birds.

Ten easy steps to avoid bird flufor you and your birds

As many predicted last summer, H5N1 avian influenza or "bird flu" has now arrived ineastern, southern, and central Europe. The virus is not yet known to be contagiousbetween humans, and therefore the threat to Europeans remains minimal and avoidable.Direct contact with infected birds appears to be the primary means of contracting the virus,but once a human is infected it remains extremely dangerous. If some contact with wildbirds or poultry is unavoidable, take basic precautions such as immediately showering andwashing exposed clothes. If you must come in close contact with birds, bird feathers orfaeces, wear a paper mask (rated N95 or better) and latex gloves during exposure, anddispose of them properly.

To help guide responsible and preventative action, we are currently advising the followingsteps to minimize the risk of you or your birds contracting avian flu. These guidelines aremeant to be useful in the context of basic prevention: anyone experiencing flu-likesymptoms - fever, cough, sore throat, aching muscles, etc. - should seek medical assistanceimmediately.

Captive birds in and around the home1. If you have captive birds, bring them inside or otherwise completely isolate them fromall wild birds and other captive birds. Practice sound biosecurity: do not bring in new birdsor allow your birds to have contact with any outside birds, captive or wild. If possible,have your captive birds tested for avian flu by your local veterinarian. Keep detailedrecords of testing also a specific list of biosecurity measures you have in place for you andyour birds.

Precautions around wild birds- if you have pet or aviary birds then

2. Avoid feeding all wild birds; including the use of bird feeders and feeding ducks orpigeons in city parks or town squares. If you do choose to take this risk, exercise extremecaution (gloves, masks, aprons, etc.) when handling the bird feeders and waterers. Keep allwild bird food, equipment, and clothing well away from your captive bird areas andequipment.

3. Exercise caution in public places frequented by city pigeons and sparrows, avoidingconcentrations of birds and areas where they feed and sleep. Take careful note of placeswhere bird faeces accumulates on streets, sidewalks, cars, etc. as an indicator of roostinglocations (the main entry sidewalk at London's Heathrow, for instance, often has aprominent accumulation of pigeon faeces awaiting those stepping out of their cars).

4. As summer approaches, avoid bathing and swimming in lakes, rivers, and coastal areaswith high concentrations of waterbirds: ducks, swans, geese and gulls in particular.

5. Avoid visiting farms or households with poultry, particularly if the birds are housedoutside. If you must visit, take the preventative measures described above when in directcontact with birds or holding areas.

6. Avoid all direct contact with wild birds such as hunting, handling and eating. This isespecially true of waterfowl which are more likely to be eaten and may be among the morecommon carriers of this disease.

7. If you find a dead bird or one that appears to be sick, do not approach it or touch it. Ifyou have one or more outdoor cats which may consume wild birds, note that this strain ofavian flu has infected cats in Asia and Europe, although there is no evidence that the catshave passed the virus on to humans.

Poultry and other birds as food8. If you choose to eat turkey, duck, or chicken meat, be sure that it is well cooked prior toeating. Commercially produced eggs should already be disinfected prior to shipment, buttake extra precautions after handling and cook thoroughly before eating. If you acquireeggs directly from chickens, from a neighbour, or from free-range sources, take the sameprecautions you would if handling the birds themselves.

9. If you choose to slaughter birds for food, wear protective rubber gloves and glasses, awaterproof apron, and a disposable mask, which fits closely over your nose and mouth(ideally rated N95 or better).

10. If preparing raw poultry or other bird meat for the table, wear gloves and a mask duringpreparation, and after preparation thoroughly wash and disinfect all knifes, containers,cutting surfaces which may have had contact with any uncooked bird meat.

PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006 ■ 15

Rediscovery of Australia’sillusive Night ParrotAn enigmatic species of parrot - last seenmummified on a Queensland roadside in1990 - has surfaced at the centre of adispute in the Pilbara region of WesternAustralia.

Ecologists working for Andrew Forrestclaim a “very convincing” sighting of threecritically endangered Night Parrots(Geopsittacus occidentalis) in marshes atMulga Downs, the pastoral station ownedby Australia’s richest woman - and MrForrest’s mining competitor - GinaRinehart.

Ms Rinehart had been negotiating for theland on Mulga Downs to be protected forconservation when the pastoral lease isrenewed in 2015. But Mr Forrest’sFortescue Metals Group has a miningtenement on the same piece of land and isdetermined to press ahead with a multi-million dollar development. The companyhas written a management plan to ensurethe protection of the bird.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16996493%255E30417,00.html, The Weekend Australian,Paige Taylor, Oct 22, 2005

$1.3m funding to protectrare birdsProtection for some of Australia's mostbeautiful native birds, including theendangered Red-tailed Black Ccockatoo(Calyptorhynchus banksii), is to be boostedwith $1.3 million in federal funding.

The initiative was aimed at preserving thedeclining habitat of Australian bird species.

Other birds to benefit from the fundingwere the Diamond Tire Tail, Victoria'sthreatened Bush Stone Curlew, the MaskedOwl and the Black Chinned Honeyeater.

Environment Minister Ian Campbellannounced the funding from the regionalcompetitive component of the NaturalHeritage Trust.

Senator Campbell said the move allowedgovernment, community groups and privatelandholders to work together to implementstrategies to preserve and improve the

Evitez tout contact avec des volailles ou volatiles, vivantsou morts et notamment leurs déjections.

Evitez les endroits où se concentrent volailles et volatiles : marchés, lieux d'élevage...

Evitez la consommation de produits alimentaires dérivés de la volaille, crus ou peu cuits.

A votre retour en Algérie

Evitez d'introduire, dans notre pays, tout type d'oiseaux de compagnie : perroquet, canari, perruche…, et tout type de produits dérivés : préparations culinaires à base de volaille…

Se laver les mains régulièrement !

Si vous êtes en voyage, voici quelquesprécautions à prendre

As flu has now moved from southeast Asia and China throughRussia to Turkey and eastern Europe, and now Nigeria andAlgeria, the number of cultures, languages, and alphabets (!) ithas encountered along the way is quite astounding. As the viruswill also impact many who are unable to read, the graphicalmessages are especially important as illustrated in this Algerianpamphlet.

La grippe aviaire ou grippe du poulet, est une maladie infectieuse virale qui touche la volaille (poulet, dinde…), les oiseaux de compagnie (perroquet, perruche, canari…) et les oiseaux sauvages.

Elle sévit actuellement en Asie et progresse vers d'autres pays comme la Turquie.

Elle se transmet à l'homme très rarement, après un contact étroit, répété et prolongé avec les déjections et les sécrétions respiratoires d'animaux infectés vivantsou morts.

Attention à la Grippe Aviaire

Si vous êtes en voyageen Asie ou en Turquie

République Algérienne Démocratique et Populaire

Ministère de la Santé, de la Population et de la Réforme Hospit alière

16 ■ PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006

PsittaNewsPsittaNews

Flu EducationBrochure

habitat for many threatened and endangerednative birds.

“Many bird species require tree hollows fornesting and suitable feeding habitat,” hesaid in a statement.

Much of this is protected within stateforests and we also need to preserve thesehabitats on private land.

Senator Campbell said the initiative workedwith landholders to protect and rehabilitatehabitat and assisted with management ofremnant vegetation.

It also included the fencing of remnantsfrom grazing stock, the revegetation ofadjacent areas and roadside ecological treethinning to encourage mature tree seedproduction, he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/10/19/1129401291105.html, AustralianAssociated Papers Ltd, October 19, 2005

Lory meeting in JuneFollowing the success of the meeting heldlast year, Rosemary Low is organisinganother meeting for Lory enthusiasts. Itwill take place on Sunday June 4 at thesame venue. This is Shirebrook VillageHall, Park Road, Shirebrook, nearMansfield, NG20 8JR, commencing at1.30pm. Rosemary Low will give a slideshow on feeding lories and Allan Manningwill talk on breeding them. The meeting isimportant for lory breeders to maintaincontact and exchange stock. The localcouncil has decreed that no birds will beallowed inside the hall but For Sale andWanted lists will be compiled at themeeting and sent to all those attending.Entrance will cost £4 per person. Anyprofit will be donated to parrotconservation. Further information fromRosemary Low, telephone 01623 846430.

Famous parrots face evictionin California - Telegraph HillBy JUSTIN M. NORTON Associated Press Writer A flock of wild parrots that took upresidence on a hill overlooking the bay,becoming the subject of a documentary andbest-selling book, are searching for a newhome after one of their perches was cutdown and two others faced a similar fate.

Mark Bittner, who brought attention to thebirds that have delighted tourists andresidents for years, halted a crew this weekbefore they cut down three cypresses whoseowner wants them removed because theypose a hazard.

“I would be a horrible human being if Iwasn't helping my friends out, and they aremy friends,” Bittner, 53, said as he stoodoutside his cabin near the lone cypressstump and the surviving pair of trees.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/02/entertainment/e163537S90.DTL&hw=parrot&sn=002&sc=574

Raids crack wildlifesyndicateExotic birds and eggs worth up to $600,000have been seized in a joint operation bywildlife and customs officers to smash animportation racket in Victoria.

Some of the birds seized by state andfederal authorities in a series of raids on asyndicate in regional Victoria have neverbeen seen in Australia before. As part of acontinuing investigation, which involvedofficers from the Australian Customs, theDepartment of Sustainability andEnvironment (DSE) and the Department ofEnvironment and Heritage (DEH), ninesearch warrants were issued on eightproperties.

DSE senior wildlife officer Denis Moy saidofficers seized illegally imported birds,eggs and other material, but would notdivulge locations of the raids.

“As a result of that we have managed tosecure a significant amount of evidencethat will now need to be analysed and, as aresult, we will then be in a position to takethe investigation further,” Mr Moy said.

“It's a lucrative operation, it's been ongoingnow for quite a number of years, and as aresult of this ongoing investigation we'renow moving into the stage where peoplewill be charged with offences.”

Mr Moy said the offences carried amaximum penalty of 10 years in jail and/ora $110,000 fine.

“I think that the wildlife trade is very

widespread and I think yes we are makinginroads into it, but I think there's still alittle way to go yet,” he said.

DEH senior wildlife officer Ben Parkersaid some of the eggs seized came frombird species found in South-East Asia,South America and South Africa.

“We’re looking at this stage at specimensworth up to $600,000 ... exotic birds, someof them have never been seen in thiscountry before.”

Officials say investigations have alsocentred on the illegal interstate movementof wildlife, and the collection of both eggsand birds from the wild, such as blackcockatoos and the endangered Yellow-tailedBlack Cockatoo.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17465774-1243,00.html?from=rss December05, 2005

Smuggled birds tastefreedom againThe Namibian (Windhoek)

Sixty six of the Ruppell's Parrots(Poicephalus rueppelli) confiscated byNamibian border police from a smugglernear Onhelewa at the Namibia-Angolanborder in September have been releasedback into the wild.

Hobatere, on the western border of theEtosha National Park and a site west ofSwartbooisdrift on the Kunene River wereselected as release sites.

All the birds have been ringed for possibleidentification later.

The smuggler, who evaded arrest and fledback into Angola, had crammed the parrotsinto a small wire cage (just 25x60x40 cm)and the birds were in a poor conditionwhen the Police confiscated them.

Erwin Tjikuua of the Ministry ofEnvironment and Tourism (MET) atOndangwa alerted Dr Pauline Lindeque,MET's Director of Scientific Services,about the confiscation.

Tjikuua then personally transported thebirds to Windhoek.

The parrots were kept in quarantine at theNamibia Animal Rehabilitation Researchand Education Centre (Narrec) inWindhoek for a month during which timethey were treated for injuries, external andinternal parasites and malnutrition that theyhad suffered.

Food for the parrots during the captivemonth at Narrec was donated by A and RPet Supplies.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200511070692.html, November 7, 2005

PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006 ■ 17

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Yellow-bibbed Lory.

A new accomplishmentBy AIMEE MORGANAED - we received this as a personalcommunication from Aimee. Herobservations were not presented norpublished as scientific findings, just anupdate on her work with her African GreyParrot N’kisi.

I wanted to share some bird news: N’kisihas just broken his own record for thelongest grammatical sentence created by ananimal. Yesterday he said: “Remember, wehad the sick, but then we had to go to thedoctor, my body.” (I’d just gotten somemedical test results back.)

This is 16 words, comparable with thelongest word string ever recorded for ananimal, by the chimp Nim (but his lacksany grammatical structure): “Give orangeme give eat orange me eat orange give meeat orange give me you.”

N’kisi’s sentence shows some of his uniquemistakes: for example, he tends to includehimself in traumatic events I’veexperienced, (“we had the sick”) – Showingthe depth of our emotional link.

Also, his vocabulary has just reached 1150words.

http://www.sheldrake.org/nkisi/

On a lighter note -Woman arrested for stuffingbird into braBy Associated PressA Florida woman has been arrested forpadding her bra – with a stolen parrot.

Jill Knispel, 35, is facing felony chargesafter hiding a rare Green-wing parrot (Arachloroptera) in her bra and stealing it fromher employer, Baby Exotic Birds, policesaid.

Knispel allegedly stole the bird so she couldtrade it for a vintage 1964 VolkswagenKarmann Ghia automobile. She couldn’tresist telling the car's owner how she got theanimal, according to the Fish and WildlifeConservation Commission. Turns out thecar’s owner is friends with the man whoowns the $2,000 bird.

DNA tests confirmed the bird’s identity andKnispel was charged Saturday with grandtheft.

“The circumstances of the case are the mostbizarre I’ve ever encountered,” said veteranwildlife investigator Lenny Barshinger.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-bird-in-bra,0,5097276.story?coll=sns-ap-world-,November 10, 2005, 7:42 AM EST

Parrot squawks on woman’saffair A parrot owner was alerted to hisgirlfriend's infidelity when his talkative petlet the cat out of the bag by squawking “Ilove you Gary”.

Suzy Collins had been meeting ex-workcolleague “Gary” for four months in theLeeds flat she shared with her partner ChrisTaylor, according to reports.

Mr Taylor apparently became suspiciousafter Ziggy croaked “Hiya Gary” when MsCollins answered her mobile phone.

The parrot also made smooching soundswhenever the name Gary was said on TV.

New homeMr Taylor, 30, a computer programmer,confronted the woman he had lived with fora year who admitted the affair and movedout, several newspapers reported.

He also gave up his eight-year-old AfricanGrey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) after thebird continued to call out Gary's name andrefused to stop squawking the phrases inhis ex-girlfriend’s voice.

“I wasn’t sorry to see the back of Suzyafter what she did, but it really broke myheart to let Ziggy go,” he said.

“I love him to bits and I really miss havinghim around, but it was torture hearing himrepeat that name over and over again."

Ms Collins, 25, said: “I’m not proud ofwhat I did but I’m sure Chris would be thefirst to admit we were having problems.”

Ziggy - named after David Bowie’s formeralter ego Ziggy Stardust - has now found anew home through the offices of a local

parrot dealer.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4619764.stm,17 January 2006

Karate experts hired tocontrol parrotsOrganizers of a vintage car rally have hiredkarate experts to protect vehicles frommarauding native parrots, a media reportsaid Friday.

Around 40 members of a local karate clubhave been enlisted to protect around 140classic cars due to visit an alpine villagenear Mt. Cook on New Zealand’s SouthIsland on Sunday, the New Zealand PressAssociation reported.

The karate experts will protect the carsfrom Keas (Nestor notabilis), sharp-beakednative parrots which have been known todamage vehicles in their search for shinyitems, NZPA said.

Denis Callesen, manager of the nearbyHermitage Hotel, said bird lovers needn'tbe concerned that the karate experts woulduse martial arts moves on the parrots,which are a protected species. Their jobwould simply be to scare the birds away, hesaid.

Local wildlife ranger Ray Bellringer saidthe karate masters were unlikely to deterthe Keas.

“They will fly around and laugh,” he said.

The best method to prevent Keas fromdamaging vehicles was to squirt them withwater pistols, he added.

Associated Press.http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1574389

Photo: W

orld Parrot Trust

18 ■ PsittaScene Volume 18, No 1, February 2006

WPT wins 2006 IAATEConservation Award

The International Associationof Avian Trainers andEducators (IAATE) recentlypresented the World ParrotTrust with a ConservationAward for the work we'vedone to end the trade in wildbirds into the EuropeanUnion. It recognizes years ofwork leading up to thecurrent temporary importban. The Award is presentedannually along with a numberof Conservation Grants byIAATE’s active ConservationCommittee. We werefortunate, and very grateful,also to have received a $1,000 grant wholly dedicated to ourcontinued work on Blue-throated Macaws in Bolivia.

IAATE is a professional group of educators working throughout theworld to educate the public about animals and conservation. Theywork at a variety of venues including zoos and aquariums, naturecenters, parks and schools. They use trained birds in their programsand many include a variety of other animals as well. The groupmeets annually to share knowledge and advancements in positivereinforcement training methods, show presentation skills, animalmanagement techniques and conservation. Many of the individuals

and organizations active in IAATEhave also partnered with WPT inextending their education programs toconnect with field conservation. Wehave written about their contributionsoften in PsittaScene and have hadmany wonderful opportunities to shareour work at their conferences. IAATEhas a strong committment to theconservation of birds and it’s membersreach tens of thousands of people ayear with this important message.

Thank You IAATE!

Pho

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Joanna Eckles (WPT-USA) acceptsthe 2006 Conservation Award from

IAATE Conservation CommitteeChair Jeffrey Meshach (World Bird

Sanctuary, St. Louis, Missouri, USA)

Please charge my Visa / Mastercard No.

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JOIN US NOW on our website or view our online sales items at: www.worldparrottrust.org

WPT International ContactsWPT Web Sites:

Main: http://www.worldparrottrust.orgUSA: http://www.parrottrustusa.org

Italy: http://www.worldparrottrust.org/italiaGermany: http://www.germanparrottrust.orgJapan: http://www.worldparrottrustjapan.org

United KingdomMichelle Cook, (Admin), Glanmor House, Hayle, Cornwall, TR27 4HB UK.

Tel: (44) 01736 751026 Fax: (44) 01736 751028, Email: admin@worldparrottrust.org

USANew Rep: Glenn Reynolds, PO Box 935, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA.

Tel/Fax: (1) 863-956-4347Email: usa@worldparrottrust.org

AfricaVera Dennison, PO Box 32, Link Hills, Natal 3652, South Africa.

Tel: (27) 31 763 4054 Fax: (27) 31 763 3811, Email: africa@worldparrottrust.org

AustraliaLinda Adam, Sydney, NSW Australia. Tel: (61) 2 8901 4207,

Email: australia@worldparrottrust.orgMike Owen, 7 Monteray St., Mooloolaba, Queensland 4557, Australia.

Tel: (61) 7 5478 0454Benelux

Jacques Gardien (Mem), Laan van Tolkien 51, 5663 RW Geldrop, The Netherlands.Tel: (31) 40 2850844, Email:benelux@worldparrottrust.org

Netherlands enquiries: Ruud Vonk (31) 168472715Belgium enquiries: Ronald Coen (32) 3 314 44 83

Email: coens@worldparrottrust.orgCanada

Michelle Kooistra, Canadian World Parrot Trust, Suite 425, #9-3151, Lakeshore Rd., Kelowna, BC, V1W 3S9, Canada.

Tel: (1) 250-863-3200 Fax: (1) 250-860-0848 (include suite number)Email: canada@worldparrottrust.org

ItalyCristiana Senni, C.P.15021, 00143 Roma, Italy.

Email: italy@worldparrottrust.orgJapan

Tomoko ImanishiEmail: japan@worldparrottrust.org

SpainGemma Cruz Benitez, C / Enrique Granados, 5 ch. 4, 28290 - Las Matas, Madrid, Spain. Tel: (34) 619 847 414 Email: spain@worldparrottrust.org

SwedenDan Paulsen, Tjelvarvagen 28, S-621 42 Visby, Sweden.

Email: sweden@worldparrottrust.orgSwitzerland

Lars Lepperhoff, Lutschenstrasse 15, 3063 Ittigen, Switzerland.Tel: (41) 31 922 3902 Email: switzerland@worldparrottrust.org

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Socorro ParakeetAratinga brevipes

Photo by JUAN CORNEJO / Africam Safari

The Socorro Parakeet is endemic to Socorro, one of the fourislands in the Revillagigedo Archipelago located 450km southwestof the tip of Baja California. Only 132 km2 in size, about half ofthe island has been badly overgrazed by introduced sheep causinglarge-scale habitat degradation and loss of forest needed by theparakeets for nesting. Roughly half the island is in near pristinecondition and a quarter is forested. The population is estimated at500 individuals and the species is listed as Endangered, but it isuncertain exactly how many remain today. This pair werephotographed in November 2004 by Juan Cornejo, one of theparticipants of an international delegation during a three day visitto the island, sponsored by the Island Endemics Foundation (US),Endemicos Insulares A.C. and the Mexican Navy. The pair werevery confiding and were observed for about 30 minutes bydelegates hiking to Mt Evermann, the highest peak at 1130m.