Avian Mysteries?

I heard on the radio a few days ago of the reported sightings of greater numbers of the large, flightless owl parrot, the Kakapo. Now, you may ask yourself.. What is a Kakapo? I asked that exact question, but then this mysterious bird caught my attention and I did some research on it. Apparently, this species of parrot is a nocturnal endemic native to New Zealand and is the only parrot in the whole world that cannot fly. According to its anatomy it's the longest living bird on the planet earth, and the heaviest one as well. Curious on the Kakapo? Visit cryptozoonews.com for more information.

Since its discovery in 1845, the Kakapo has only been filmed twice in the wild, and after an absence of almost twenty years(Late 1950's to mid 1970's) , many believed this bird became extinct. Then in 1975, a male Kakapo was spotted on the Codfish Island off the coast of New Zealand, which was a relief for scientists. That is very strange for such a long absence, what were these birds doing? Since March of 2014 only 127 individuals still survive in the wild, putting it on the endangered list.

 

a-z-animals.com (Kakapo)

 

As you can see, this parrot is combined with an owl as well, which reminded me of videos and sounds I've seen and heard in class. Kakapos are ground dwellers, they spend their entire lives on the ground. As I observe Sonny, surprisingly there are similarities in behavior. Is it because they both don't live in trees and live differently? Or maybe they live secluded and private lives and don't interact with other birds? I'm stumped on that, it's very mysterious.

Maybe these two birds share ancestral roots, who knows it could be possible. Many parrot species do come from similar ancestors as they all have similar physical characteristics. But, as I compare a Kakapo with my parrot I can see the same kind of shyness and seclusion on both their parts, it gets more and more interesting.

 

Field Notes 10/22/14

 

 

Works Cited

  Clout, Mick. "Celebration of Kakapo: Progress in the Conservation of an Enigmatic Parrot." auckland.ac.nz. STA Travel. 2006. Web. October 25, 2014.





 





Wiped Out?

I was reading an article about some endangered parrot species, and I saw that one of the most beautiful parrots is on that list. The Blue Throated Macaw has been endangered since 2009, and with only about EIGHTY adults left in the wild, they have slim chances of bringing their numbers back up. These birds only live in the remote jungles of Bolivia, so that country has made a conservation program to help the species make a comeback. If anyone is interested in more information, or is interested in donating money to these foundations visit parrots.org.

As I have been observing my parrot, I have really thought the birds on that list of endangerment. I've realized that man-kind must be careful of moving into their habitat, because these birds are so precious to the environment and play a large role in the ecosystem. In many places around the world, some species of parrots are hunted and killed for their colorful feathers or even for their eggs, so poaching is also a very big problem.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SLweL0FX9o

 

There have been accounts of people taking in some of these parrots while they are still very young and they cannot survive, and the bird eventually dies. Some people don't understand that if the parrot is born wild, it must live wild. Although, I can see why having one of these birds is so tempting they are very beautiful, but an undomesticated parrot is not a good pet to have. For more pictures and galleries on this macaw visit birdchannel.com.

 

 

I was researching some characteristics that parrots have and apparently they are zygodactyls, which means they have four toes on each foot, two pointing backwards and two pointing forward. I didn't realize this, until I looked at Sonny's feet and I saw for myself. I thought that was pretty awesome! But then I was thinking about the feet.. Of course! Two feet point backwards to grab branches! It all made sense, and surprisingly for herbivores parrots have large talons.

 

Field Notes 10/17/14 (Sonny's Feet)

Companionship

Since my last entry, there has been a lot of new movements going with Sonny's cage. Lately there has been these gray little birds that always land on the cage or stand beneath it. I wonder why? My theory is that these birds may be trying to eat some of the bird feed that is thrown on the ground by Sonny. The birds on top of the cage I really do not know what they are up to. Hopefully they are not harassing my parrot, but instead possibly making new friendships perhaps? Sonny always seems to be very interested in the presence of these birds, she tries to be as near as possible to them, which rises the suspicions that they are communicating with each other. My theory is that Sonny's chirps are very different, or considered weird to other birds, bringing them to investigate where the source of this "weird chirping" is coming from. I just hope that this chirping doesn't attract any predators!

 

Field Notes 10/10/14

 

I did some research on these mysterious birds and it turns out they are called the American Gray Flycatcher. The Gray Flycatcher is native to all of North America, and the most common habitat for them is sagebrush steppes. They thrive in shrubs or short tree branches eating insects or any seeds that can be found. For more information on this bird, please visit birdweb.org. 



 

 American Gray Flycatcher. allaboutbirds.org

 

 The presence of these birds is a great example of how much attention Sonny draws, which can be a good and bad thing. I can recall a time where a red tailed hawk attacked her cage trying to kill Sonny, and the hawk did not see the cage and rammed right into it knocking it down to the ground. Sonny was uninjured but she was frightened and the hawk was left extremely confused. Visit animals.nationalgeographic.com for information on hawks.

 

Red Tailed Hawk. birdweb.org

Hopefully no more hawks will be flying around Sonny's cage anymore. That's one of the advantages of having cockatiels as pets, you will find yourself in some pretty funny or crazy situations from time to time. In the end, it's all just good times you'll have with these birds.

 

 

 

Intelligence

My bird loves it when I feed her by hand and its one of the many things I am able to share with her. Holding her is a different story and that only happens every once in a while, but every cockatiel is different, each one has its own likes and dislikes. Sonny seems to be very playful as I've noticed how ripped up her toys are. Her perching surfaces always have lots of marks where she will scratch her beak and trim her nails, which is actually normal but I find it amusing to witness that. Usually I will use a cement perches because the wooden ones can break easily, but I do have her using the natural wooden ones now, she doesn't seem to be aggressive towards the perches anymore. Which is a good thing because I don't have to keep on buying new ones over and over again!

Field Notes 10/5/14



 



 As you can see, she is very wary of where the camera is, and the flash didn't help at all. This picture was taken inside of her cage. If anyone is interested in seeing galleries of these beautiful creatures you can visit cockatiels.org for amazing photos taken by professionals.

 

As I have done some more research on this species, these birds are wanted for mainly their intelligence and their companionship to humans. First brought by Scottish naturalist Robert Kerr to Western Civilization in 1782, these birds were native to Australia and exported to different parts of the globe. Since then the exportation of this species has been banned, but they are now native in the Islands of Tasmania and the island of New Zealand. For more information on the background and origins of the cockatiel, please visit birdminds.com.

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUISGNwEvt0

 

This video is an example of how beautifully these birds can sing and whistle to almost anything they hear. My birds picks up whistles she hears from me or other family members or even from the T.V., which is just mind blowing. I wish I could whistle like that!

 

I think these birds are incredible pets and I encourage anyone who has never had a parrot before, to buy a cockatiel because they are just awesome. These parrots have a lot more in them, then what they are credited for.