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Cikananga Conservation Breeding Centre – Saving Asia’s Songbirds
NOTE: All photos copyright by Cikananga Conservation Breeding Centre The birdlife of South East Asia, particularly Indonesia, has been long adored by birdwatchers and aviculturists. Over the past couple of decades, ‘twitchers’ have noted a decline in the number of birds in some areas which formerly supported a wealth of avian activity. Whilst habitat loss is a huge factor in the decline of birds, the cage bird trade is decimating populations across Southeast Asia. Many species from this area are now commonplace in our aviaries or zoos, such as fairy bluebirds and shamas, but relatively few people are aware of the immense threat faced by these birds in their native…
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President’s Message – 2017 May-June
(IMAGE: Carol Stanley with one of her flamingos) President’s Message Greetings, fellow Aviculturists: Not long now….I am so looking forward to the 12th Annual Avicultural Society of America Education Conference this October 4 – 7, 2017! Are you going? There will be a legislative roundtable discussion on Friday evening after our day at the San Diego Zoo (tour and cookout!). Read more about it in this issue. I hope to see you there! Dick Dickenson and Mary Rose have been busy gathering great raffle items. This year we will have raffle tickets available online just before the conference when our permit becomes active. This dynamic duo has really outdone themselves…
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Officers and Staff – 2017 October-September
President Carol Stanley 925-698-0191 Vice-President Alex Culp alex@asabirds.org 714-308-0270 Secretary Kimberly Robertson krobertson@safariwest.com Treasurer Steve Duncan 909-599-7577 Board of Directors Roger Bringas rogerbringas@gmail.com Jennifer Culp 714-894-6146 Sheri Hanna turacoldy@aol.com 805-208-1759 Susie Kasielke skasielke@aol.com Rick Rosenthal rickatbnb@aol.com Dick Schroeder 760-743-3156 dick.schroeder.911@gmail.com Jack Wikoff 909-428-5756 Aviculture Apprentice Program Kimberly Robertson, Director krobertson@safariwest.com Carol Stanley 925-698-0191 Alycia Antheunisse acampidonica@gmail.com Board Advisor Genny Wall 949-859-0861 Communications Director Dick Schroeder 760-743-3156 dick.schroeder.911@gmail.com Web Master Steve Duncan 909-599-7577 www.asabirds.org Legislative Liaison Officer Laurella Desborough 904-291-9043 Membership Committee Alycia Antheunisse, Chair acampidonica@gmail.com 209-333-2185 Steve Duncan, Director 909-599-7577 Alex Culp alex.k.mullenex@gmail.com 714-308-0270 Jennifer Culp 714-894-6146 Rick Rosenthanl rickatbnb@aol.com Sheri Hanna turacoldy@aol.com 805-208-1759 Ways & Means Alex Culp alex@asabirds.org 714-308-0270 Conference…
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Membership – 2017 September-October
ASA Member Clubs Central California Avian Society PO Box 5067 Fresno, CA 93755 www.ccasbirds.com Contra Costa Avian Society P.O. Box 23115 Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 www.contracostaaviansociety.org Acadiana Bird Club 480 Almonaster Dr, Youngsville, LA 70592 acadianabirdinc@hotmail.com Arizona Seedcracker Society Inc P.O. Box 26899 Mesa, AZ 85214 Long Beach Bird Breeders 6444 Spring St # 132 Long Beach, CA 90815 longbeachbirdbreeders@gmail.com Orange County Bird Breeders www.ocbirdbreeders.org Fort Worth Bird Club P.O. Box 1712 Keller, TX 76244 fwbc@fortworthbirdclub.com Finch Society of San Diego County 4256 10 Ave San Diego, CA 92103 www.finchsocietyofsandiego.com The Foreign Bird League The Premier Foreign Bird Keeping Society in the UK Founded 1932 Overseas membership for 2012 £1800…
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2018 Events
American Federation of Aviculture (IMAGE: AFA Logo) AFA’s 44th annual Educational Conference and Avian Expo will be held in San Antonio, TX, August 16-18, 2018. More info on www.afabirds.org Avicultural Society of America (IMAGE: ASA Logo) ASA’s 13th Annual Education Conference in Fall of 2018 will be announced soon. Watch for more details online at www.asabirds.org Loro Parque IX International Parrot Convention (IMAGE: Conference Banner) September 24-27, 2018 www.loroparque-fundacion.org/congresso Let us know of your avicultural event to be posted on our Events page at: info@asabirds.org
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Who’s Your Daddy – 2017 September-October
(IMAGE: Photo of a featherless baby bird.) Answer: Lilac crowned amazon (Amazona finschi) (IMAGE: LILAC-CROWNED AMAZON (AMAZONA FINSCHI) PHOTO STEVE DUNCAN) The lilac-crowned amazon (Amazona finschi) is a parrot endemic to the Pacific slopes of Mexico. Also known as Finsch’s amazon, the parrot is characterized by green plumage, a maroon forehead, and violet-blue crown. The binomial of this bird commemorates the German naturalist and explorer Otto Finsch. In 2006, BirdLife International classified this species as vulnerable. In 2014, IUCN uplisted this species to Endangered. Feral Birds There are feral populations of this bird in several counties in southern California. It has been observed in residential and suburban areas, but…
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Pick Your Color
(IMAGE: Yellow Zupreem pellets in the bottom of a ceramic bowl.) Whilst collecting dishes from my softbills, I will usually encounter certain colors of the pellets uneaten. I have also seen this in parrots. In a mix with red, orange, yellow and green, the red is almost always the first eaten. The remaining colors are selected by preference for eating by color until, the least favorite is left in the dish. If the dish is not refreshed, the birds will start eating the perceived inferior pellets – for the most part. It seems my Blue-naped mousebirds (Urocolius macrourus), are stubborn little creatures that draw a line in the dish and…
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Back Yard Chickens: Pros and Cons
(IMAGE: PHOTO OF CHICKEN COOP IN SUSIE’S CHILDHOOD BACK YARD. SUSIE IS THE INDIAN PRINCESS BEYOND THE POLE ON THE LEFT. PHOTO BY J.S.RICHTER OF FRESNO) The earliest memories of my childhood in Fresno, CA, were of doing the chores for the hen house. I was in charge of raking the poop and removing it from the pens, to be used for my mom’s flowers. I also mowed our lawns and carted the clippings to the hen house, because my mom swore it made the egg yolks bright orange. I fed the hens laying pellets and collected the eggs several times a day. Crazy child that I was, I’d lift…
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Steve’s Photo Pick – 2017 September-October
(IMAGE) Trumpeter Hornbill, Bycanistes buccinator, (6-week-old chick) – A common species of equatorial Africa, the Trumpeter Hornbill often lives in small groups but sometimes as many as 50. Trumpeters are a medium-sized hornbill at about 24” long and do have a loud braying call, much louder than the Tockus species of hornbills which are also from Africa. Trumpeter Hornbills are omnivorous but eat much more fruit than animal prey, which is mostly insects. Like most other hornbills, the female will seal herself into a tree cavity for the duration of incubation and most of the period that the chicks are being reared. Young hornbills often sit with their tails cocked…
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The Races of Amazon Aestiva
(IMAGE: BLUE FRONT AMAZON (AMAZONA AESTIVA) CHACO TYPE PHOTO STEVE DUNCAN) Carolus Linnaeus (Linné) published the 10th edition of his systematic list in 1758. His Systema Naturae gave order to the species concept, with a generic and a subspecific name—the so-called binominal nomenclature; the tenth edition is regarded as the starting point of zoological nomenclature. This concept allowed scientists worldwide to recognize the same individual by the same name; the use of common names typically proved tremendously erring, as different countries then as they do now use different common names for the same species. This scientific principal unquestionably advanced science tremendously and is still in use today. Linné named on…