Parrot wallpaper[ Photos: desktoprating ]
Monday, October 27, 2008
Bleached Parrots
This image shows what a normal White-fronted Amazon should look like, and photos of three birds who were altered with bleach and dye.Luckily, one bird has survived the treatment. Most die, like the bottom photos of an older bird and an unweaned baby parrot.
Of wild-caught parrots, approximately 80% die before they are sold to jobbers or wholesalers; of the remaining survivors, only 1-2% make it to a person who purchases them at a swap meet; very few of these last few birds actually show up at a veterinarian for care. Who can calculate the numbers of un-reported ill, dying and dead parrots in this reprehensible trade?
Who can truly judge the impact on wild populations? And who is responsible for this moral outrage?
Only education and knowledge will change the long-standing traditions of parrot smuggling. Tell everyone you know, educate, and report illicit sales.
Parrot Heaven
The Kingston area, just South of Hobart, must be the Tasmanian equivalent of Mecca, for a range of parrot species that have had more than passing assistance from humans. For many years the home of about 25 or so Galahs, believed to be the progeny of birds released from a ship at Port Huon in 1922, they have been joined by Long-billed and Little Corellas, and most recently by Rainbow Lorikeets. The Galah numbers have burgeoned too, no doubt joined by aviary escapes and possibly trans Bass Strait migrants. Apart from the odd vagrant, these species would not normally include Tasmania as part of their distribution range. A few days ago,I spent a morning on the Kingston Golf Course (after seeking permission from the secretary/manager), armed with a camera rather than golf clubs, and wandered round. I wanted to get a few shots of the Rainbow Lorikeets, having noted half a dozen of them in the Blue Gums along the nearby beachfront, and having heard that they frequented t
he golf course.As I wandered back to my car from the clubhouse, I could already hear the 'strains' of the numerous Musk Lorikeets in the nearby gums, I could also hear a few Swift Parrots calling from among them, but this was the first and last intimation of their presence. I drove down to the club's works area, flushing several Eastern Rosellas from the track side, and noting several groups of Wood Duck and flocks of Galahs, feeding on the verdant fairways. The works area abuts Brown's River, and I walked over to the river bank. My first sighting there was a solitary Australasian Grebe, splashing its way over the water surface, towards me! Concentrating on that, I had failed to see the single Little Pied and Two Little Black Cormorants, roosting on a dead tree branch, only a few metres away, obviously used to the to and froing of the ground staff, and unfazed by my close approach. With obviously so many groups of birds about, I just wandered "higgledy piggledy" round the course, drawn to whatever seemed like a photo op.. I photographed Galahs, Eastern and Green Rosellas, Musk Lorikeet, Noisy Miners, Australian Magpies and Wood Duck in quick succession. However, the Rainbow Lorikeets were proving rather more elusive, although I had a brief view of a couple passing rapidly on to distant gums. I then spotted a corella among a flock of around 30 Galahs, and closed on this. It proved to be the only Little Corella that I recorded (photo at bottom left). It was keeping company with a very anaemic coloured and similar sized Galah, a species with which they occasionally cross breed, at least in aviary situations.
I had just about given up on the 'rainbows' when I was drawn to a dispute between Eastern Rosellas and Musk Lorikeets, high in a large gum. I tried to get a few shots, but the 'easterns ' flew off. I stood under the trees contemplating leaving, the increasing numbers of golfers were a distraction, when I heard a 'rainbow' call from almost overhead. And there, unnoticed by me, were a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets, sussing out a nest hole or 'spout' at the end of a hollow branch, some 10 metres up. A coupl
e of shots before they disappeared deep inside. I waited for what seemed an eternity, (I'm really not the patient type that people sometimes suggest!). 10 minutes or so later, they emerged, and I shot a few more images including the photo at right of a bird at the possible nest entrance, and the image at top left, before they flew off. Ambling back along the river bank, I could see a flock of Long-billed Corellas lined up along the power lines overlooking the children's playground, on the other side of the river, waiting for one of the frequent 'handouts' of food. Every now and then, amid much screaming, they would all take to the air, and from my observations this usually indicates a nearby raptor, often a Brown Goshawk.I have mixed feelings about the corellas and 'rainbows'. There is no doubt that many are aviary escapes, or their progeny, and they have the potential to become serious pests. There is also the question of what impact they may have on our native species, the Swift Parrot in particular. I suspect that they are already past being able to 'control' their numbers, and I'm not sure that it would be supported by well meaning, but perhaps, ill informed members of the public. I have no doubt that although we use the expression "aviary escapes", many of these parrots have in fact been deliberately released when the owners tired of them. All too frequently I notice other fauna that's been dumped, ranging from chickens and ducks, through to cats, many of them in conservation areas.
Truganini Reserve & Swift Parrots
You probably haven't been waiting with bated breath for this, but I've only just managed to get my PC back in some semblance of order after temporarily losing the last 6 months worth of images! As I mentioned in the last blog, I moved on to the Truganini Reserve at Taroona, in search of Swift Parrots. There's a familiar ritual to arriving, you can usually count on seeing, or at least hearing, the local Yellow Wattlebirds as you park your car, and on this morning they didn't disappoint. Their interest was in a pair of Grey Currawongs, skulking about, and at least 3 Kookaburras, and the wattlebirds managed to move them all on, without getting too close. By the track, I witnessed nuptial feeding by a pair of Crescent Honeyeaters, and overhead, much chasing among the Black-headed Honeyeaters . So it 
appeared that for some, breeding was underway. Within a 100 metres of the entrance, I heard the first Swift Parrots, so at least I now knew they were about. But, as anyone familiar with watching Swift Parrots would be aware, hearing them is one thing, seeing them is another! The calls were emanating from some of the taller eucalypts, mainly Blue Gums, although few, if any were flowering here. I climbed the bank on the northern side of the gully, up into the morning sun, and as I did, I could hear other Swifties calling. I estimated that there were about 6 or 7 pairs in the area, but as yet I hadn't seen a single bird. The shrill call of a nearby Musk Lorikeet caught my attention, and it was then that I saw 
my first Swift Parrot, well to be precise two, undoubtedly a pair. Both were in dispute over a possible nest site, with both Musks and Swifties entering a hole in a gum, some 15 metres up. The Musks used there "tail spreading" act, to warn off the Swifties, and the Swifties, opened their still folded wings to show the red colouring beneath. They also showed their displeasure as seen in the, not very flattering, shot at upper left. Neither of the pairs actually came into contact with one another, preferring to animatedly display as mentioned, sometimes within a few centimetres of one another. It's the first time that I've witnessed this, and unfortunately it was among the foliage and some way from me, so I didn't get the sort of images that I might have hoped for. After about 10 minutes of this action, both pairs flew off, but as I returned a little later, I disturbed a single Swift Parrot from the vicinity of the same tree. I did speculate whether the confontation was a common occurrence, and is the increasingly numerous Musk Lorikeet population having a detrimental effect on the already threatened, Swift Parrot's breeding chances. Higher up the slope, I noted the single Swift Parrot, pictured at lower left. It called from a high perch at the extremity of a dead gum. It appeared to be alone, and its frequent
calling was not answered, perhaps it was in search of a partner, or had become separated. Later, on the track back down into the gully, I also recorded Pink Robin, Olive and Golden Whistlers, Tasmanian Scrubwrens (very quiet, which leads me to believe, they are nesting), a solitary Brush Bronzewing, and numerous Strong-billed Honeyeaters, some gathering strips of bark for their nests. It was while I was watching the latter, that I noted another pair of swifties. These appeared to be gleaning insects from the crevices of a large Blue Gum, and amongst the 'strings' of bark hanging down. Going silently about their business made me realise just how much I, and doubtless others, rely on hearing their call to find them, often as they 'explode' from a tree. In fact, thinking back over the years, I couldn't recall too many times that I had witnessed them feeding on anything other than flowering gums. An interesting morning.[NB. I've added the only meaningful image of the Swift Parrot threat display, with the individual at lower right showing the red underwing area]
[Source: tassiebirds ]
Orange Bellied parrot
The critically endangered Orange Bellied parrot (pictured) is an "environmental obstacle" to a desalination plant planned for the parrot's habitat in Victoria, Massie Santos Ballon yesterday proclaimed on a so-called "Cleantech" website.There's less than 200 orange belliers left in the wild, though a breeding and release program is showing promise. Habitat disruption is the main reason for the parrot's demise.
"The desalination plant also threatens other colorfully named species such as the glossy grass skink, the southern brown bandicoot and the growling grass frog, but the bird is really the center of all the attention," Ballon trivialises.
Ballon is a "columnist" from Manila, the Blade Runner-style capital of the Philippines, where sewer rats and junkyard dogs pass for biodiversity.
"The question is, will [the Orange Bellied parrot] cost Aussies their drinking water?" Ballon goes on to patronise.
As this blog sees it, the real question is: "Why should an environmentally-dubious desalination plant fly in the face of the well-established precautionary principle, to the detriment of several threatened species, so Aussies can wind up living in a horrorshow cesspit like the city Ballon calls home?"
Wild Parrots of San Gabriel Valley
Bill was actually lucky enough to get a couple of photos of the wild parrots that have become residents of the San Gabriel Valley. I say lucky because they usually perch very high up and never, that I have seen, come down to the ground. After reading a few articles it seems there are over 8 different species. This one I think is a Red-Crowned Amazon. Several rumors circulate regarding there presence the most common being that a pet store burned down and the parrots escaped. I have no idea what the truth is but since I'm a parrot/bird lover I think they're great to have around even though they can be a bit noisy.
[Source: mokysHood ]
Parrot Flower - Flower that looks like a parrot
Parrot Flower (scientific name : Impatiens psittacina) is a flower that looks like a parrot. Okay I get that, but I really didn’t believe it till I got my eyes on it. Talk about another’s of natures creations. There are things that are pretty, and then again there are things that are pretty. Yes I know that parrots are green but trust me now I can actually visualize them as pink. They look real and if the birds were pink they’d look just the same.
These delicate parrot flowers simply hang in there, but whichever angle you look at them from you’d still see pink parrots. I’m not sure where they’re found but obviously they’re a rare phenomenon. Honestly I’ve never seen a real one. If I was a cynic I’d say someone was fooling me but they look too real and pretty to be the work of idle minds.
These delicate parrot flowers simply hang in there, but whichever angle you look at them from you’d still see pink parrots. I’m not sure where they’re found but obviously they’re a rare phenomenon. Honestly I’ve never seen a real one. If I was a cynic I’d say someone was fooling me but they look too real and pretty to be the work of idle minds.
A balsam, Impatiens psittacina is a very rare impatiens species discovered and identified to botanical world in 1901 by botanist E.D. Hooker. This plant raises only in a small part of north Thailand (near Chiang Mai), Burma, and one territory of eastern India. The species can be found in several botanical reference books including Plants of India. The original botanical drawings are now posted at several website on the internet. Hooker originally stumble upon the plant in India and brought back the seed to the Royal Botanic Garden Kew in London. Those seeds did not reproduce after the first year.
According to Exoticrainforest.com , you definitely can't buy this species. Thai government has elected to ban the export of seeds or plants because it extremely rare . Many people have claimed this species is a hoax and the photographs were manipulated in PhotoShop. In fact, a gentleman who works near the Queen Sikrit Botanical garden at Chiang Mai took the photos originally posted on the internet. Unfortunately he didn't put his name on photos. However put the scientific name of the species, Impatiens psittacina, in the border of the original photos. Many people who have grabbed and reposted the photos have chosen to eliminate that text which was largely in Thai, including the scientific name.
Parrot and Hamster Friends
This little parrot and the hamster are the best of friends. That is just too cute.
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