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Birds are everywhere. You find them in your backyard, in the trees, and flying within your field of vision while driving or walking. You hear them sing their songs and make their otherwise friendly bird sounds as they go from one place to another. There’s really little you can do to expel the bird from your daily life. And why would you want to? With many species bringing so many variations of appearance, size, and color, you’re likely to see and hear at least 10 different species in a single day. As beautiful and seemingly plentiful as these birds appear, they face a daily threat of predators, habitat disruption, and disappearing food sources. That’s why enlightened cities and towns are beginning to view themselves as a “bird-friendly community.”

Lights Out

So, what’s a bird-friendly community? It’s when a city or town takes it upon itself to legislate safeguards within the community to protect birds from a series of potentially dangerous things. In 2020, Lafeber posted an article about the dangers of building collisions in large cities with tall buildings during migration. These collisions were escalated due to the nighttime lighting of buildings. Birds are vastly dependent upon their natural instincts for travel in the airspace. As they migrate, strongly lit buildings within a metropolis have wreaked havoc on their navigational system and have killed many thousands of birds as they collide into buildings.

Birds are drawn to light. They use it to properly navigate. But when artificial lighting appears in their migratory travel, they are also drawn to it. As a result, some of the biggest cities in migratory pathways have decided to reduce their night lighting significantly by way of suggestion. Chicago, Dallas. Fort Worth, and Houston have responded with “lights-out” pacts that cater to the well-being of our birds.

In Texas, an initiative known as Lights Out Texas sought to partner with building owners to shut lights off. With nearly two billion birds passing through Texas annually from their southern stayovers, this initiative is essential to the many birds flying. (I live in Fort Worth. Living in close view of the city’s skyline, I can verify that the city is extremely dark at night from their light reductions.) Chicago has been involved in this practice since 1995 with their Lights Out Chicago initiative. Audubon Societies within the cities as well as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have worked closely to produce favorable results.

Building Bird-Friendly Habitats

But lighting is a protective measure designed to assist migrating birds. What about birds that are part of the ecological structure of a city or township? Many locations have gone to great lengths to install favorable habitats so birds of the area can find nesting homes and more safety. Within such parks and artificial habitats, significant efforts have been undertaken to install proper trees, plants, and flowers that naturally attract birds. These movements have rapidly spread throughout locations and contribute not only to the attraction and eventual well-being of the birds, but also to the people that emotionally enjoy birds being nearby.  New York City’s famed Central Park is one of the country’s greatest effort at combining nature with an urbanized metropolis. There are many enthusiasts that haunt this park for bird sightings of all kinds, including unusual stopovers.

Back yards become favored locations as property owners can naturalize their yards to create unique hot spots for visitation. Specific plants and trees coupled with clean and sanitized bird feeders and baths have contributed to extraordinary displays of bird gatherings. These bird-friendly spots allow for the photo capture of birds and might even allow for the rare picture of a mutated bird that shows up occasionally.

As cities, towns, and property owners begin to contribute to the well-being of nature’s birds, it can only lead to good things for all of us. Not only are our birds increasingly protected from the glare and intrusion of our technologies, but they are also the lucky recipients of naturalized spots to allow for them to live stress-free. If you’re interested in creating a bird-friendly spot, the internet is a vast resource of information that gives suggestions for every species. But it also delivers sound and proven solutions to problems that you yourself can help to correct…like turning your artificial lights off for the evening hours.

Wild parrots need our attention and help, not just to thrive but often simply to survive. Many worthy research and conservation organizations are working hard to protect a wide diversity of parrot species. Lafeber is committed to helping. We hope you will be inspired as well. This month takes us to Indonesia.

Originally known as Project Bird Watch, The Indonesian Parrot Project (IPP) was established in 2001 by Dr. Stewart Metz and Barbara Bailey. They first visited Indonesia in 2001, and were captivated by the people, birds, and exquisite islands. That trip changed their lives and inspired them to create IPP, whose mission over the last 20 years has grown to include conservation support for several parrot species: Moluccan cockatoos, Eclectus, various other cockatoos, great-billed parrots, and lorikeets.

Dr. Metz also shared his life with China, a wild-caught Moluccan, so he was deeply inspired to shepherd conservation of this endangered species. Stewart was a personal friend and mentor, and in 2003 he told me “these marvelous creatures are my passion. They grab at one’s heartstrings and then become almost a reason for being.” If you live with a Moluccan cockatoo, also referred to as a Salmon-crested or Seram cockatoo, you know what he means!

A Complicated Landscape

Indonesia is a vast archipelago of over 17,500 islands and has a complicated geography. If a parrot is confiscated from a smuggler, it is not always clear which island that bird originated from or if it can be safely released. In addition, Indonesia is part of the Ring of Fire, and constantly subject to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and other major weather events, often making travel and communication a challenge. The work of IPP and its Indonesian counterpart, Konservasi Kakatua Indonesia (KKI), is ambitious, enterprising, and often exhausting!

We still have so much to learn about the lives of wild parrots, especially the most endangered and vulnerable ones. IPP is supporting several scientific efforts such as genetic, census, breeding, and ecologic studies. If you live with a cockatoo or Eclectus, don’t you want to know more about how they breed, build nests, and communicate with each other; as well as what they eat and what their flock dynamics are like? For those most endangered species, like Indonesian cockatoos, it is extremely important that we ask these questions and support those organizations that can help us find those answers before it is too late.

Stewart Metz, who we sadly lost in 2017, knew that the only way to staunch the tide of poaching and trapping, was to help local populations find other sources of income and work. Habitats where parrots live are also places of great poverty, so it essential to create sustainable income for the local community. Therefore, IPP helps support the forest wardens who find and track active nests. It also supports local women’s cooperatives for arts and crafts, as well as organic farming.

The love Stewart Metz had for the Moluccan cockatoos and the people of Indonesia was palpable in everything thing he said and did. He remains an inspiration to this day, and his remarkable conservation work now continues in the good hands of Executive Director Bonnie Zimmerman and the Indonesian community at large. Check out the IPP documentary.

Lafeber’s $500 GLOBAL PARROT conservation grant this month goes to the Indonesian Parrot Project.  You can help too. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, go to: https://indonesian-parrot-project.org/ As they say in Bahasa Indonesia, “Sempai jumpa!”  (Cheers!)

For many years, the technological ability to help repair damages to nature has been on the uptick. One of the most satisfying trends has been 3D printing of damaged and essential parts of creatures in our animal kingdom and their appendages. Some years back, a maliciously abused toucan by a teen gang in South America had its beak snapped off. It was replaced by the miracle of 3D printing. Since that event, other miracles have occurred that have enabled birds and other creatures to carry on with their lives. But as science improves so do its methods.

Parrot In Need Of A Helping Hand

Recently a white-eyed conure with a severely damaged beak was discovered in the wild and brought to a Brazil-based animal center. With the damage assessed, it was realized that the bird would have little chance of survival in the wild given the state of its beak. The beak was so severely damaged it was almost non-existent. Enter the visionaries of Renascer Acn in both the founder of the agency, Paulo Roberto Martins, and a veterinarian, Dr. Maria Ângela Panelli Marchió.

After the arrival of the parrot, the two professionals spent some time to figure what would improve the unfortunate accident to the parrot’s decimated beak. The solution was a resin creation of a beak that was affixed to the bird. The veterinarian had experience in critical situations and was essential to the restoration process. After a bit of rehabilitation, it was determined that the bird could never go back into the wild due to the possibility of the resin beak failing. The parrot was lucky once in being found and saved. It might not be so lucky a second time should the beak fail.

New Beak Offers A New Lease On Life

The parrot will reside in the home of Paulo’s Renascer ACN’s home-base with the newly assigned name of Maritaca. Currently, the facility houses around 150 birds. The facility was started back in 2017 after the rescue of a macaw parrot, who had hit a wire and was damaged. Rather than see the bird euthanized, Paulo decided to take care of the bird especially since it was known that the bird had eggs to care for. It was then that he decided to start the agency by which he now cares for many birds, including the parrot with the repaired prosthetic beak.

On average, the facility rescues about four animals a week. The facility is operated on donations, a stipend from the local government, and personal funds from the founder. As with many facilities, donations are welcomed and help to make the lives of creatures and birds better. One can easily imagine the possibility that the plight of the parrot with the damaged beak might have been unresolved if Renascer Acn were not available to provide the help it so desperately needed.

If interested, you can go to the Facebook page of Renascer Acn and watch their work unfold.

Nature has a funny way of evolving sometimes. One of its quirks is the mutation. Mutations can come in the way of color changes, and it can also slam up against the wall with a dual-sided male/female combination. We’ve seen this dual oddity in several birds, including the Northern Cardinal. Other mutations can be found producing excessive feather growth like in the Silkie Chicken or the Feather Duster Parakeet. And while many of these kinds of genetic mutations are rare, they show up more often than we would think they could. One such mutation is a coloration abnormality referred to as a “pied mutation.”

A pied mutation is when expected color displays in areas on a bird are replaced by patches of other colors that are not expected, as well as some unusual body markings. The mutated colorations in a bird fall under three types of pied mutation – dominant, recessive, and clearflight. Of course, there are multiple types of other kinds of mutations affecting birds, but for this article, we’ll stick with the pied mutation as the subject of this writing is a recently seen beautiful abnormality. The bird is a Rainbow Lorikeet that was recently spotted in North Rothbury, a small village located in the state of New South Wales in Australia. Although the Rainbow Lorikeet is a common bird in Australia, this one was anything but common.

Spotting a Rare Beauty

New South Wales resident, Jayde Parrey, discovered this unusually colored Rainbow Lorikeet in her yard along with around 20 other normal Lorikeets. According to Jayde, the mutated bird seemed to get along nicely with the flock it was spotted with. It fed with them and did all the things a bird normally does without displayed prejudice from the other birds. Jayde has lovingly named this bird Kalyn after a rugby fullback by the name of Kayln Ponga. The headgear worn by the footballer is as colorful as the head of the bird making it an easy choice to pair the names. Jayde has managed to get several excellent photographs of Kalyn, some of which Jayde has graciously provided to us as exclusive photos.

A normal Rainbow Lorikeet has a solid green back with the front of the bird a palette of colors that led to the naming of the bird. Typically, that means an orange/yellow chest, a solid, blue-colored head, a greenish collar, and a beautiful solid blue belly. The spotted mutation (AKA Kalyn), perhaps the first of its kind spotted anywhere, has patches of different colors replacing the normal colors. The head is primarily blue but is a firework display of a mix of colors that include red and yellow. The expected collar is missing replaced by a continuation of the primarily green back. The back is patched with yellow displayed in a random patterning. The front of the lorikeet is heavily splotched with a non-patterned collection of orange, yellow, and blue. The coloration of the beak has determined Kalyn to be an adult Rainbow Lorikeet. Kalyn is nonetheless striking and is as beautiful as the normal “mates” it hangs with. Regardless, its difference to the others is striking making it an easily recognized oddity.

We like Kalyn.

Wild parrots need our attention and help, not only to thrive but often simply to survive. Many worthy research and conservation organizations are working hard to protect a wide diversity of parrot species. Lafeber is committed to helping. We hope you will be inspired as well.

This month takes us to Bolivia, South America. The Conservación del Loro Boliviano Foundation, or CLB, (www.fclbolivia.org), is a relatively new organization. Formed in 2011, it describes itself as young, but full of life. Based in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, CLB is comprised of people with a deep conviction to the preservation of biodiversity and habitats. The Conservation Director is José Antonio Díaz Luque, who is also a conservation programs facilitator for the World Parrot Trust.

Bolivia is home to more than 2,900 animal species, including over 1,400 birds (about 14% of birds known in the world, and the sixth most diverse country in terms of bird species).^. There are 54 Psittacine species, ranging from the critically endangered red-fronted and blue-throated macaws, to a diverse number of other macaws, Amazons, conures, and Pionus species. 

Bolivia has gained global attention for its “Law of the Rights of Mother Earth,” which accords nature the same rights as humans. Passed in 2010, it defines Mother Earth as “…the dynamic living system formed by the indivisible community of all life systems and living beings whom are interrelated, interdependent, and complementary, which share a common destiny.” This law recognizes the need for equilibrium, restoration, clean air and water, and, most importantly, the diversity of life. This is good news for parrots.

On the other hand, one third of the country is in the Andean mountain range and home to 20% of the world’s glaciers. This means Bolivia is particularly sensitive to climate change. We know that a change to any part of a habitat may greatly affect another, and all the ecosystems associated with it. This may leave parrots more vulnerable.

Bolivia is also home to a lush Amazon basin, as well as dry, rugged scrub filled with cacti. Parrots are indigenous to all these areas. Protecting wild parrots requires action on many fronts, and it is especially complicated given the wide diversity of habitat and life in Bolivia.

Here are some of the important things the CLB Foundation has done recently.

Rescue & Rehabilitation

Birds confiscated by trappers often require medical care and rehabilitation. CLB participated in a 20 month rehabilitation effort for a group of blue-and-gold macaws, yellow-chevron parakeets, and white-eyed conures. They were successfully released back into the wild in December 2019, the first parrot release ever authorized in Bolivia. Upon observation of the birds one month later, the results were very positive!

CLB is also working with the Endangered Species Research Center (CIESA) to develop critical facilities for parrot rescue and rehabilitation. This will be the first facility on its kind Bolivia, a country where the illegal parrot trade is still a massive problem, so there is an overwhelming need for proper rehabilitation and release. 

Community Outreach

Critical to conservation is an interested and committed local community. Without this support, trappers have few constraints, and habitat is destroyed. CLB knows that, and this is why it is laser focused on supporting local organizations that are leaders in conservation in their regions.

These communities promote fairs and events that not only promote conservation but also generate economic activity for the local population.

For example, CLB supported the development of the first festival for the conservation of the blue-throated macaw in the Gran Mojos Municipal Protected Area, and 50 people from the local community participated in activities such as drawing, painting, talks and a field activity to learn about the blue-throated macaw in the wild. For the red-fronted macaw, CLB supported the Jardin Cactaceas Municipal Protected Area in the development of its first fair for the endangered red-fronted macaw, where more than 60 participants were able to purchase products derived from mango fruits, liqueurs, and jams from eight producers of the communities of Anamal and Las Juntas, an important breeding region.

Involving children is especially important! The goal is to increase and maintain community pride and participation for years to come, as well as ensure new activities are created to support community development. CLB is committed to this huge effort.

Research & Publications

The Conservation Director of CLB, José Antonio Díaz Luque, was one of 11 contributing authors to the October 2019 study about the ecological reasons that parrots waste food. This study involved 103 parrot species, including 26 from Bolivia. What wild parrots eat is also an important area of research, and helps us better understand our parrots in captivity. In April 2020, he was also an active participant in a published scientific study on the critical role of blue macaws (including the hyacinth macaw) in seed dispersal in their natural environments, which shows the importance of the species in the ecosystem and the need to preserve them.

Habitat & Environmental Protection

Protecting existing nests is essential. Equally important is expanding potential habitat areas. This often means working with private land owners to minimize habitat loss. CLB is building relationships with local ranchers to locate nests and preserve those areas on private property, as well as continuing support the protected areas team where those endangered species survive.

Lafeber’s $500 GLOBAL PARROT conservation grant this month goes to the CLB Foundation for its continued good works. There are several ways you can also help the parrots of Bolivia.  Visit the CLB campaign page or make a tax-deductible donation through the World Parrot Trust (parrots.org) specifically noting it is for CLB.

As we look around us in the biosphere we call home, we are inundated with a wealth of lifeforms. Many of them are creatures we do not often think about. Giraffes, lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my), and much more than these, help to make up the world of life that we know all too well. But there are other creatures that extend our awareness beyond the textbook and the television. Pets like dogs, cats, and our beloved exotic birds create more immediate awareness and therefore stimulate our brains and emotions to a bit higher level than most other animals in the wild. And then, there are the wild everyday birds that we might take for granted. But they’re there regardless, and they deliver far more than you think.

Happier With Birds

Early in December, a study was published that surprisingly (or not to some) recognized that a greater biodiversity of wild birds in their busy and active displays to humans made humans happier. That was in addition to comforts of satisfying income. Basically, the more visible birds became within your view contributed heavily toward a greater personal satisfaction. The study covered Europeans and found that when even just a 10% increase in birds surrounding us, we became happier.

This study was undertaken by the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, a museum of notable worth, and the University of Kiel, a 355-year old institute of learning located in Germany. It was their combined interest to determine human well-being as it relates to our surrounding biodiverse landscape of creatures. This newfound interest derived from a 2012 survey that sought to determine happiness among humans. One of the standouts was the fact that birds contributed heavily to the understood happiness among the European population. The new study sought to look deeper and to cement those findings.

Birds are everywhere. Their song is heard most often, more than any other life form in the wild. Their movement captures attention as they fly, often in some amazing ways (murmurations, concerted flock movement for gatherings on wires, and many kinds of random flight patterns that bring birds into a field of view). In short, it’s difficult, even impossible, to not be immersed in bird sightings and the song they happily sing when you are moving about.

Interacting With Birds Around Us

To help make the happiness levels among many people even higher, some people engage in interactive experiences like bird sighting adventures, setting up feeding locations to attract birds to a yard or locale, and sometimes even elaborately planned-out yard setups that require specific shrubs, trees, and plants to attract more birds than normal. An environment filled with the daily movement and song of wild birds simply makes us much happier. And for that, we can realize that a world without the landscape of birds can be a bleak and sobering event. There is obviously a sense of ease that birds give us just by being there.

On a serious and somber note, our birds throughout the world are undergoing serious and frightening levels of decline that bode poorly for our feathered creatures. For decades we have recognized the need to slow-down the expansion of human activity into the realm of the birds. Our inability to cease or change our modes of living have done much to drive birds away from some locations to more undisturbed places. As a result, the effects could be as disturbingly catastrophic to humans and their levels of happiness as they would be to the bird themselves.

A new year is upon us, and with that comes new motivations for the 12 months ahead. We can use this time to think of ways we can make our lives and the lives of our feathered friends more enriched, less stressful, and healthier.

Create A Menu

Knowing what’s for dinner can make mealtime healthier and more adventurous. Not thinking about what to eat until you are feeling hunger pains increases the likelihood that processed, quick-to-make-foods sneak their way onto your plate at the expense of more nutrient-dense selections. For people, when you factor in the USDA’s recommendation of consuming 5 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, depending on age, gender, and level of physical activity, some degree of forethought is needed.

As far as feathered family members are concerned, the start of a new year can be a good time to assess how much variety your bird is being served. If your bird is a feathered foodie, they might appreciate a rotation of nutritious vegetables, healthy fruits, and other healthy selections to supplement their main diet.

If your bird is a picky eater, you might find the fix to be in offering a different vegetable each day until you find the ones they take a liking to. It could even be a matter of the way you serve it. Your bird’s menu, for example, could offer fresh carrot wedged through the cage bars one day, and mushed steamed carrot another day. Planning out your bird’s daily selection can help you zero in on their likes and dislikes, and ensures that your bird has the opportunity to try new healthy treats.

Make Your Interactions Count

For many people, the end of one year and the beginning of the next is a time for reflection, and it can also be a good time for us to count our blessings. Let’s not forget to include our bird companions in the mix. How often do you take the time to tell your bird how wonderful they are? Even birds that aren’t hands-on companions enjoy being talked to, and paying compliments is a surefire way to ensure your tone of voice is warm and inviting.

Use the year ahead to take those baby steps to earn your bird’s trust if your feathered friend is skittish or shy, or to teach your bird a new trick. January makes for a good point of reference to track your progress over the ensuing months.

Imagine where you’d want to be a year from now, whether that is your bird being receptive to you gently petting their head feathers or sitting on your hand, teaching your bird the step-up cue, or noticing that your once skittish bird is more relaxed in their environment because you respected their boundaries and did not force interactions that might destroy trust.

Make Your Bird’s Environment Shiny & New

It’s tempting to put off cage cleaning until the end of the week (or the end of the month!); after all, parrots tend to render their cages messy again soon after mealtime or playtime is over. But cleaning the cage at the end of the day not only lessens the amount of debris from being launched out of the cage in the event of wing-flapping, it can give insight into how often your bird is pooping (you’ll have an idea of what is normal for your bird, too); it can give you an idea as to what foods your bird is actually consuming and which they are ignoring; and you’re sooner to notice if a new toy should be rotated in because the current one was destroyed.

Conversely, if the same toy is ignored day after day, you’re quicker to note that the toy is not one your bird likes. Essentially, a daily cleaning (cleaning food and water dishes, changing the cage liner, checking for wear and tear of perches and toys, etc.) helps you pay closer attention to what’s going on in your bird’s environment.

Embrace The Bird Community

Sharing your home with a feathered friend is different than what cat or dog households might experience. Your cat-loving or dog-loving friends and family might not understand why you drive an hour or so away for your bird’s vet, or why your spare room is the birds’ room, and they might not understand why your bird doesn’t want to interact with them. You can’t ask them if your bird’s behavior is something they’ve experienced before, or compare your birds’ food or enrichment preferences. Make connections with other bird people. Consider joining a bird club or attending a bird conference. Take advantage of Lafeber’s free interactive webinars with avian veterinarians, behaviorists, and similar avian experts, where you’ll have the opportunity to learn, ask questions, and chat online with other pet bird enthusiasts.

Make That Well-Bird Check-Up

Make no mistake, your avian veterinarian wants to see your bird in the new year. That can be at the start of the year, the middle of the year, or near year’s end—whatever it takes for your bird to get their annual physical. Don’t forget to set this important appointment and keep it. It’s always better to be proactive when it comes to your bird’s health than to take chances on a scenario where a treatable condition turns into a health concern.

What’s on your New Year’s resolution list? Do share in the comment section.

Add “birds” to your Google News alert topics–or simply search the word “bird” or “parrot” in Google to see what’s going on in the world of birds. Here are some recent “birds in the news” stories worth checking out.

Feather Color May Be Linked To Body Size & Climate

You’ll want to read this fascinating study that explores how parrots’ feather color is influenced by body size and  climate. For one, researchers found that smaller, shorter-lived parrot species are more likely to show visual differences (sexual dimorphism) between male and female plumage colors or patterns than larger parrot species. Study results also suggest that environment plays a role in parrots’ appearance, as sexual dimorphism was discovered to be more pronounced in parrots living in closed or forested habitats. Another reason  to read on? See why parrots native to warmer and wetter environments are darker, while parrots from hotter climates show more blue coloring.

Yes, You’re Hearing Four Times More Wild Birds Than Usual!

Have you noticed a pleasant chatter of wild birds since COVID-related shutdowns? You’re not alone. Many people have recently become more aware of the birds in their area. Researchers studying wild birds in San Francisco found that birds have responded to the diminished city noise by producing softer songs, with a wider range of notes. Apparently, not having to compete with urban noise pollution has given birds the ability to hone-in on their vocal skills.

You Can Help Keep Birds Safe During Fall Migration

Some birds migrate a mind-boggling distance — up to thousands of miles — to reach warmer climates during winter months. And then they fly back again in spring. Sadly, millions of birds die annually after flying into windows during their migration. In this article, Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Ornithologist Sarah Kendrick encourages people to make small changes at their home or office to prevent window strikes. Kendrick notes that when a bird strikes a window at a home or office, the window is reflecting either sky or vegetation and the bird believes it is a pass-through. Breaking up that reflection can help the bird know that the window is an obstacle. Learn what steps you can take to help migrating birds safely navigate around your home.

“Unicorn” Bird Discovered

The recent discovery of a genetic anomaly in a rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) has scientists and bird enthusiasts in awe by its rarity. This two-sexed bird was discovered in a Pennsylvania reserve. What makes this bird so unique is that it displays an even split down the middle of its body of both male and female feather coloring. Its right side shows red plumage, which is a male trait, and its left shows golden yellow feathers, which is a female trait. Learn just how rare this is and if it affects the bird’s health.