Feathered Friends.At East Parks Animal Education Centre they have a large selection of exotic birds and of course one of the only walk thru aviaries in the Region.the aviaries used to be located near to what is now the central pavilion .But moved to the new site in 2006.This is a really popular attraction with its large pond and waterfall and birds flying above you.But it isn't only the exotic birds that benefit from the new facilities you will usually see the chickens and peacocks roaming about the site as well.
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The Parrots.The parrots are a broad order of more than 350 birds. Macaws, Amazons, lorikeets, lovebirds, cockatoos and many others are all considered parrots.
Though there is great diversity among these birds, there are similarities as well. All parrots have curved beaks and all are zygodactyls, meaning they have four toes on each foot, two pointing forward and two projecting backward. Most parrots eat fruit, flowers, buds, nuts, seeds, and some small creatures such as insects. Parrots are found in warm climates all over most of the world. The greatest diversities exist in Australasia, Central America, and South America. Many parrots are kept as pets, especially macaws, Amazon parrots, cockatiels, parakeets, and cockatoos. These birds have been popular companions throughout history because they are intelligent, charismatic, colorful, and musical. Some birds can imitate many nonavian sounds, including human speech. The male African gray parrot is the most accomplished user of human speech in the animal world; this rain forest-dweller is an uncanny mimic. Currently the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species bans the sale of any wild-caught species, yet the parrots' popularity continues to drive illegal trade. Some parrot species are highly endangered. In other cases, once tame birds have reproduced in the wild and established thriving feral populations in foreign ecosystems. The monk (green) parakeet, for example, now lives in several U.S. states. |
BudgiesThe Budgerigar is one of the two Parrots to be genuinely domesticated as a species along with the Peach-faced Lovebird . Believed to be the most common pet Parrot in the world, the Budgerigar has been bred in captivity since the 1850s. Breeders have worked over the decades to produce a wide range of colour, pattern and feather mutations, such as blue, white, violet, olive, albino and lutino (yellow), pied, clearwing, spangled, and crested.
Modern show budgerigars, also called English budgerigars and/or Standard-Type Budgerigars are larger than their wild-type (natural form) counterparts, with puffy head feathers, giving them an exaggerated look. The eyes and beak can be almost totally obscured by feathers. Most Budgerigars in the pet trade are not of the show variety and are similar in size and body conformation to wild Budgerigars and thus aptly called wild-type Budgies. Budgies are not expensive, which is another reason to why they are very common pets. Budgerigars are intelligent and social animals and enjoy the stimulation of toys and interaction with humans as well as with other Budgerigars. A common behavior is the chewing of material such as wood, especially for female Budgerigars. Budgerigars can be taught to speak, whistle tunes, and play with humans. Both males and females sing and can learn to mimic sounds & words. Both singing and mimicry are more pronounced and much more perfected in males. As a whole, females rarely if ever learn to mimic more than a dozen words or so. Males can very easily acquire vocabularies ranging between a few dozen to a hundred words. Generally speaking, it is the pet Budgies and even more so the ones kept as single pets which talk the best and the most. In captivity, Budgerigars live an average of five to eight years, but are reported to occasionally live to 15 if well cared for. The life span depends on the budgerigar's breed (show Budgerigars typically do not live as long as wild-type Budgerigars) and on the individual bird's health, which is highly influenced by exercise and diet. Although wild Budgerigars eat grass seeds almost exclusively, avian veterinarians recommend captive birds' diets be supplemented with foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouted seeds, pasta, whole grain bread and other healthy human foods, as well as pellets formulated for small parrots. |
CockatielsThe Cockatiel also known as the Quarrion and the Weero, is a diminutive cockatoo endemic to Australia and prized as a household pet.
The only members of their genus, Cockatiels are now biologically classified as the smallest of the (cockatoo family). These sweet-tempered birds are valued throughout the world as pets due to their gentle and sociable nature. Cockatiels are natively found across the outback regions of inland Australia, and favor the Australian wetlands, scrub lands, and bush lands. The Cockatiel's distinctive erectile crest expresses the animal's state of being. (Some say "emotional state.") The crest is dramatically vertical when the cockatiel is startled or excited, gently oblique in its neutral or relaxed state, and flattened close to the head when the animal is angry or defensive. The "Normal Grey," or "Wild-type" cockatiel's plumage is primarily grey with prominent white flashes on the outer edges of each wing. The face of the male is yellow or white, while the face of the female is primarily grey or light grey, and both genders feature a round orange area on both ear areas, often referred to as "cheek patches." This orange coloration is generally vibrant in adult males, and often quite muted in females. Visual sexing is often possible with this variant of the bird |
Around the Aviaries
Royal Society for the protection of birds The RSPB was formed to counter the barbarous trade in plumes for women's hats, a fashion responsible for the destruction of many thousands of egrets, birds of paradise and other species whose plumes had become fashionable in the late Victorian era.There had already been concern earlier in the century about the wholesale destruction of such native birds as great crested grebes and kittiwakes for their plumage, leading to such early legislation as the Sea Birds Preservation Act of 1869 and the Wild Birds Protection Act of 1880, but the trigger which led to the foundation of the Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889 was the continued wearing of ever more exotic plumes.
In its earliest days the Society consisted entirely of women who were moved by the emotional appeal of the plight of young birds left to starve in the nest after their parents had been shot for their plumes. The rules of the Society were simple:
A number of influential figures, including the leading ornithologist of the day, Professor Alfred Newton lent their support to the cause, which gained widespread publicity and popularity, leading to a rapid growth in the Society's membership and a widening of its aims. Indeed the young Society was so successful that it was granted its Royal Charter in 1904, just 15 years after being founded. information sourced from the history of the RSPB |