Tui Parakeet. Breeding the

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Julie Bishop
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1 clutch at six mnths ld. Brske says her captive-raised birds start breeding at abut seven mnths f age. Incubatin is arund 21 days and yung fledge at seven t eight weeks, becming independent tw t three weeks later. Diet Ben Cper feeds keet and finch mixture supplemented with ne tablespn fsaked (nt spruted) millet. He als feeds CD mix (insectile). Barbara Brske feeds keet and cckatiel mix as well as Vita-Finch and Vita-Canary. She supplements "a lt f green," hwever, states many f the dark greens are "~trng" and the birds wn't eat them. She als feeds sweet ptat and high grade wheat bread put thrugh a fd prcessr. She says imprted birds are finicky and are hard t feed supplements, hwever, the secnd generatin are better feeders. She prefers Rmaine, brccli and carrt. I cncur with Brske n the difficulty f establishing supplemental fd as a part f their diet. Mine prefer small seeds, including niger and I feed extra straight canary seed, and als spray millet. Fruit is seldm accepted, hwever sme greens and vegetables are. In Aviculture The Madagascar Lvebird was ne f the first lvebirds imprted and, in the past, reached Eurpe in the thusands. Yet they still remain rare and are very difficult t establish. The late David West tlq me they will even die f fright in the net, and they shuld be mved in their nestbxes whenever pssible. The tw excellent breeders acknwledged in this article are t be cmmended fr their.nging dedicatin t this species. There are few f the Madagascars left in the cuntry, and members f the African Lve Bird Sciety need t give immediate attentin t ensure their survival and cntinued breeding t successive generatins. The Wright Rst., Jeri Wright (206) NCNI HAND-FEEDING Hyacinths & thermacaws, Cckats Cnures & Amazns Dmestic, Clse-Banded Rudybush Distributr The Tui Parakeet (Brtgeris sanctithmae sanctithmae) is part f the Brtgeris family. The Tui is a "cusin" t the ever ppular Grey-cheeked Parakeet, as bth are in the Brtgeris genus. The Tui is a small bird f seven inches in length, and built n the mre slender side cmpared t its cusin. A nice different feature frm the Greycheek is that the Tui Parakeets d nt have a harsh lud vice. They have a vice like mst Brtgeris, but just d nt seem t use it as ften. I wuld cnsider them quiet cmpared t the Grey-cheek. The Tui is mainly shades f a bright green, with the breast, abdmen, under the wings and tail, lwer back and tail cverts mre f a yellwish green. The wing flights are bluish green, with the blue a bit brighter n the primary cverts. The mst nticeable differences f the Tui Parakeets cmpared t ther Brtgeris parakeets are the chestnut-clred beak and glwing glden clred iris. The head is the mst striking feature fthis little bird. Thse glden eyes are really set ff with the bright yellw frehead. T many peple, the Tui Parakeet appears t be in clr a mini versin f the Yellw-crwned Amazn (Amazna chrcephala). The Tui Parakeet inhabits areas ver eastern Amaznas, Brazil, westward thrugh sutheastern Clmbia and nrtheastern Peru t eastern Ecuadr and nrthern Blivia. Over 10 years ag, I was frtunate enugh t purchase a few f these beautiful birds. Once the birds were surgically sexed, I ended up with tw pairs t wrk with, in high hpes f prducing mre f these beautiful birds. It tk years t finally get a pair t settle in and prduce successfully. The tw pairs were set up utdrs in wire cages, n added heat r cling, fr the weather here rarely drps belw 40 F. Each pair was set up in an individual breeding cage. The cages measured 48" wide, 17" tall and 15" Breeding the Tui Parakeet (Brtgeris sanctithmae sanctithmae) by Rbbie Harris La Habra, Califrnia deep. Fr perches I prefer t use natural tree branches. The branches used are frm my wn rchard f ver 50 varius fruiting trees grwn n my prperty. I d nt use insecticide s I can assume they are safe. The wden nest bxes used measured 11" x 10" X 7" wide, having a rund 2" diameter hle; these were ffered t each pair. The nest bxes were lined in a dark crk, which was adhered t the inside with a nn-txic glue. T the bttm f the nest bx three inches fpine shavings were added t use as a base. Phts and mre details n nest bx lining is described in my bk "Grey-cheeked Parakeets and Other Brtgeris," T.F.H. All my birds that are set up in breeding cages are in a large wire enclsure. This wire building huses many pairs f birds which d nt seem t be bthered by their clse neighbrs f different species. A few pairs f birds set up right next t the Tui Parakeets are Painted Cnures, Pearly Cnures, Peach-frnted Cnures, Dusky Cnures, Blue-crwned Cnures, Senegal Parrts and Tvi Parakeets. The diet I prvided fr the Tui Parakeets is very similar t the diet I ffer t mst f my ther parrts. This diet in detail can be fund in either f my bks, "Breeding Cnures," T.F.H. r "Greycheeked Parakeets and Other Brtgeris," T.F.H. The Tui Parakeets have available t them at all times a variety f dry seeds including medium size gray sunflwer seed, safflwer seed and a parakeet mix cntaining 42% canary seed. Alng with the dry seeds the birds are given a daily bwl f fresh cut up fruits, vegetables, spruted seeds and greens. Crn n the cb and apple are their favrite fds which are always the first t be eaten. At the end f May 1992, I fund an egg buried in ne f the nest bxes f Tui Parakeets. This egg was remved, the shell was slightly prus, but even thugh it appeared n gd I still placed it in my incubatr. This egg 26 July / August 1994

2 did, indeed, shw feltile within a few days, but "rang ut" and died. (This term is what I use when an embry stalts t develp and instead f develping prperly a bld ring develps arund the inside f the egg.) On June 3, tw mre eggs were fund in the nest bx. I candled them with my prbe-lite egg candler, but they were t freshly laid and just candied ut t be clear lking, but healthy, strng eggs. By June 7 (my bilthday), my present was finding five eggs in the nest. This time when I candled them, three shwed veins they were, indeed, fertile. That was a great present fr me after all my hard wrk and patience. In this clutch, a ttal f six eggs was laid, with five remaining in the bx with the pair. The hen spent all day in the nest bx alne incubating and tending t her clutch, while the male std guard during the day just utside f the bx. Every evening the male wuld retire inside the nest bx with his mate fr the night. On June 11, candling the clutch revealed three fertile eggs grwing well, but ne ther appeared t have been fertile but died. The fifth egg appeared "clear." On June 17, I decided t candle the clutch again. Nw there were fur feltile eggs. The last egg laid njune 11 was fertile and nw shwing visible grwth when candled. I fund that the incubatin f the Tui Parakeets is dne differently than that f mst ther Brtgeris, at least with this pair. Mst birds in the Brtgeris family stalt their incubatin clse t the time the last egg is laid.' S usually when I candle "their" eggs they wuld all seem t be at abut the same stage fgrwth. With this prcedure f incubatin, chicks tend t all hatch at abut the same time. Usually within tw days all the eggs have hatched under the Brtgeris parents. The Tui Parakeets stalted their incubatin f their eggs when the first egg was laid. On June 22, at abut 7 p.m. I did my last nest bx check fr the day. I discvered ne Tui egg was pened, with a tiny beak prtruding ut. It appeared t have been pened by ne f its parents, nt by the trapped chick inside. Either the parents became eager and helpful, r they knew there was a prblem and stepped in t help. Because it was s late in the evening, just befre dark and 1 culd nt d anther nest bx check until the next mrning, 1 decided t remve this egg. The little white egg was placed in my incubatr at I mnitred the egg all evening, did very clse egg candling, checking fr what prblem was ccurring. I did nt want t make a mistake with this egg (nr any ther egg), but I tk my time until I was sure. I think because this was my very first Tui Parakeet egg I was a bit mre nervus and ver cautius. By 11:39 p.m., I felt strngly that this chick was trapped inside the egg and wuld nt be able t free itself n its wn. I als felt it was the prper time fr the chick t hatch. I then prceeded t remve the chick frm the shell (as described in my bks). There was n bld, and as 1 wet him dwn with a warm damp cttn swab, he helped push himself ut. I carefully chipped away at the shell. Within minutes he was ut. My first Tui chick had hatched, alive and well. There had been prblems inside the egg shell, as there was a build up f a thick green and light-green slime, pssibly drppings passed by the chick alng with ther matter. The chick was bathed and cleaned and placed inside my warm and ready hmemade brder. This tiny all pink chick weighed 1.8 grams and had a lng ff-white dwn n its back. I fed the chick every tw hurs all night lng. At first I was undecided as t either handraise this chick frm day ne, r let the parents raise it. I handrear hundreds f chicks frm day ne each year, but I felt that I wuld like t see this chick get its first start frm the parents if at all pssible. I was als curius t see if the pair even wanted their chick back and if they wuld make gd parents. The very next mrning the tiny chick was placed back in the nest with its Tui parents. I inspected the nest in abut an hur t find the chick warm and already well fed by its parents. The hen appeared quite happy and cntent t have her chick back. On June 26, early mrning nest bx inspectin shwed me a repeat f the first egg prblem. Chick number tw was ready t cme ut f its shell but he, t, was stuck inside. The parents again tried t pen the egg t free their trapped chick. I remved this egg as well, and placed the egg inside my incubatr, knowing and prepared fr what I had t d t save this chick, A mnumental effrt t bring tgether in ne bk the mst cmplete and up t date infrmatin ever assembled n these magnificent birds. Whether parrt breeder, bilgist, rnithll!ist this new bk is an abslute must"!" A Mngraph 0/Macaws & Cnures brings tgether a team f truly cmmitted prfessinals. Tny Silva authr fa Mngraph 0/Endangered Parrts, Eric Peake internatinally acclaimed wildlife artist and Silvi Mattacchine the Canadian Publisher wh has brught sme fthe finest new parrt bks t market. The bk is cmprised f a text ttalling almst 500,000 wrds plus 40 new images cmmissined especially fr this bk. Wrld wide circulatin is limited strictly t 2,000 subscribers cpies numbered, and 50 numbered and signed Remarque Editins. Destined t quickly becme a cllectrs item. PRICE: Subscribers Editin $ U.S. plus $15.00 U.S. pstage and handling. (nly 2,000 cpies available) Remarque Editin $2, U.S. per cpy plus $ U.S. Curier csts within USA and Canada (nly 50 cpies available). M/C, VISA, pstal mney rder accepted. TOLL FREE Published by: SILVIO MATIACcmONE & CO., 1793 ROSEBANK RD. PICKERING, ONT., CANADA LlV IP5 TEL: (905) FAX (905) Canadian price is $ including 7% GST. afa WATCHl3IRD 27

(/).-=: r I Q) :.0..Q a: >-..Q (/)..r: 0... Even at three t jur 'weeks fage] the distinctive yell"lu feathers sho"lu up n the cr'wn Ofthe Tui Parakeet. t. This chick had a few mre prblems than the first ne.

3 (/).-=: r I Q) :.0..Q a: >-..Q (/)..r: 0... Even at three t jur 'weeks fage] the distinctive yell"lu feathers sho"lu up n the cr'wn Ofthe Tui Parakeet. t. This chick had a few mre prblems than the first ne. It culd pssibly be in sme danger if it remained even the slightest bit t lng trapped inside the egg. But, by 2 p.m. I remved the chick safely ut f the egg. This chick had a ful dr frm the slime build-up inside the egg. I washed and cleaned the chick and placed it back in the incubatr t The TUiparakeet (Brtgeris s. sanctith0111ae) is ne j'the rare Brtgerisfund in captivity. As an adult] this bird appears as a 111iniatllre Yell'w-cr'Luned An1azn. Its glden eyes are enhanced by its yellw crwn. 28 July / August 1994 warm up and dry. At 4:30 p.m., the 2.1 gram chick was replaced back in the nest with its parents, unfed by me. Within an hur I inspected the nest bx and fund the chicks ding well; bth were fed. There were tw mre fertile eggs left in the nest. I persnally did nt like the way the last chicks were develping inside the eggs. Upn candling, ne lked as if it just died in the shell. The ther lked as if it was develping t slwly. I remved the slw grwing live egg and placed it under ne f my dn1estically reared pairs f Cbalt-winged Parakeets (Brtgeris cyanptera). This pair had eggs f their wn which were sn t hatch, making their eggs and the Tui egg almst at the same stage in grwth. Knwing hw rare Tui Parakeets are, I felt safer with this tame pair f Cbalt-wings raising the last chick. This pair are excellent fster parents t ther Brtgeris chicks. June 28, Sunday mrning, 4:45 a.m. we were hit with a large earthquake, fllwed by anther quake at 7:55 a.m. The Tui Parakeets remained in their nest bx and tk care f their tw chicks. All my birds seemed a bit shaken up, but fine. I had immediately gne thrugh my buildings that were equipped with emergency lighting, fr it was still dark at that time. I d feel that walking thrugh and talking t my birds helps caln1 them dwn after an earthquake. Only ne pair f Blue- crwned Cnures wuld nt return t their three very yung chicks, s I remved them fr handrearing. The Cbalt-wings remained n their clutch just fine. On June 29, the third Tui chick hatched under the Cbalt-winged Parakeets. N assistance was needed. This little guy did it all n his wn. The Cbalt-Wings prved t be great fster parents as usual. The next day, the Cbalt-wings hatched ut their first chick in their clutch. They' tk great care f their wn chicks alng with their fster chick, the Tui Parakeet. On July 1, I nticed that the sn1aller f the tw chicks under the Tui appeared t be a bit "dry" with skin starting t flake. This chick was slwly dehydrating, and, if nt ren10ved, wuld die within days. I decided t remve these tw chicks and start handrearing them. By July 6, all three Tui chicks were in the huse being handreared n my frmula, which can be fund in either f my bks. The chicks grew s fast and did fine n n1y frmula. They had gd bdy weight and excellent feather. By July 15, the three chicks weighed 28 grams, 25.6 grams and 24.3 grams. At the end f July, I nticed a swelling in the lwer abdmen n the secnd chick. The chick was rushed t Dr. Max Weiss, Iny avian vet. A full exalninatin prved that the chick was brn with a n1alfunctining liver. Fluid was being develped and seeping int the bdy cavity f this chick. Dr. Weiss kept the chick vernight and remved the excess fluid frm its bdy. The next day when I went t pick up the Tui chick, he infrmed me that there was little r n hpe fr the liver t repair itself. I still wanted t try t see if I culd keep him alive. The bdy cntinued t slwly fill with fluid and each night I wuld remve the excess fluid t make the chick mre cmfrtable. This was dne with a sterilized needle and syringe. There were times when I culd remve 3 cc f fluid and there even seemed t be a bit mre left inside. He ate well and even grew, but n August 11 he died. His beautiful little feathered bdy is ging t be dnated t the L.A. museum. The tw remaining healthy chicks were nw placed in a weaning cage. They wuld pick and eat seeds, mainly parakeet mix at first and fruits

Nw there is a revlutinary new hand weaning technique that prvides a safe and smth transitin between syringe feeding and adult fds. Parent birds hld pieces f fd in their beaks t teach fledglings t eat.

4 Nw there is a revlutinary new hand weaning technique that prvides a safe and smth transitin between syringe feeding and adult fds. Parent birds hld pieces f fd in their beaks t teach fledglings t eat. Use f this all new Hand Weaning Fd frm Marin Zlgical allws humans the privilege f ding the same thing while teachin~ yung parrts imprtant eating skills nt pssible with syringes r spns. Scenic Hand Weaning Fd simulates ht and wet regurgitated fd, but maintains its firm shape while being hand fed t the yung fledgling. THIS PRODUCT SIMULATES ACTUAL PARENT FEEDING BEHAVIOR BECAUSE IT CAN BE HAND FED. HOT AND WET Baby birds quickly assciate yur lving human hands with nurturing and sustenance and as the prviders f affectin, lve and care. Healthy life gi ing eating habits begin BEFO E Chicks are eaned!

and vegetables, apple being their favrite. They wuld see me feeding the ther chicks in the nursery, and beg and scream fr their share. The chicks just lve their Trix breakfast cereal.

5 and vegetables, apple being their favrite. They wuld see me feeding the ther chicks in the nursery, and beg and scream fr their share. The chicks just lve their Trix breakfast cereal. I think this is because f the different shapes and clrs they nw cme in, and this seems t amuse the chicks. By August 30, they were bth weaned and eating n their wn. The tw baby feathered Tui Parakeets lk just like the adults, except fr the juvenile eye clring. At first their iris clr was dark, but at 12 weeks f age their iris lightened up t a yellwish-gray clr. It still will be a while until they btain their bright glden clred eyes. Presently the adult pair is shwing n interest in returning t nest. Many Brtgeris nly prduce a single clutch a year. I am very pleased and happy with the twsme frm this seasn, and I have high hpes fr prducing mre! On FebrualY 11, 1993 I had the tw yung Tui Parakeet chicks surgically sexed. The tw ended up t be a pair, a male and a female. This has wrked ut quite well as I had an extra male. The yung hen and the lder male have nw been set up fr breeding. I am sure she is t yung t prduce this year, but at least they get alng very well. They seem t really like ne anther. Maybe next year this pair will prduce chicks. I d knw that Greycheeked Parakeets that are als frm the Brtgeris family have prduced eggs and chicks fr me at nine mnths f age. S anything is still pssible. : -JUNGLE SAFARI: _ Octber 8-1"5, 1994 Escrted by Daniel Brks frm the Hustn Z Explre Amaznia with naturalist and rnithl- _ gist Daniel Brks. Walk thrugh the treetps n the - nly canpy walkway in the Americas and get a - - bird's eye view f the frest! Travel n the Amazn - _ and Napa Rivers, explre virgin rainfrest, fish fr piranha, visit native villages and see pink dlphins, mnkeys, slths, rchids, giant lilies and much mre! _ Add extic bird species t yur life list, such as; - hatzins, tucans, macaws, parrts, hrned scream- ers, tanagers, cuck, pt CO, trgns, manakifls, _ ctingas, guans and mre. Have fun and learn while staying in extic jungle ldges, lcated in remte nature reserves, where great wildlife viewing just cmes naturally! Only $1795 frm Miami. _ - ~ (Lw cst, add-n airfares available.) _ - Extensin t the Andes and _ - Machu Picchu available! _ - Call EXJI!ratins, Inc. fr _ - a free detailed brchure. _,,-----, 30 July / August 1994 Pst-release Behavir and Mvements f the Abstract The Bali Mynah is critically endangered, with nly 34 birds left in the wild. Withut supplementing the wild ppulatin, the species is likely t g extinct n Bali in the near future. Using captive Bali Mynahs, we will release birds int native habitat and assist them in their transitin t the wild. The infrmatin gained frm this cnservatin prject will advance the science f reintrducing z-bred animals t the wild and has direct applicatins t planned captivereleases f endangered frest birds in Hawaii, the Caribbean, Suth America and Africa. Intrductin Captive prpagatin f endangered species and reintrductin int native habitats is a management technique that is integral t the Species Survival Plans (SSP) develped by zlgical parks and varius gvernmental agencies (Temple 1978, Sctt 1987). Usually reserved as a preservatin effrt f last resrt, captive prpagatin can "buy time" fr an endangered species, allwing implementatin f mre lng-term cnservatin techniques. If captive-bred birds are t be successfully released, life histry and behaviral aspects must be addressed (Wiley et al. 1992). Fr example, grup size fr scial species may be essential fr successful fraging and mate selectin. Additinally, a perid f pre-release physical cnditining and behaviral training may be required (Wiley et al. 1992). Fr small t medium sized birds, hwever, relatively few studies have fcused n these aspects (Fergusn et al. 1991). The behaviral transitins that a captive bird must make frm life in an aviary t the wild are little knwn, but likely prfund. It is essential, therefre, that the behav- Bali Mynah (Leucpsar rthschildi) by Mark S. Cllins and Thmas B. Smith, Ph.D. Department f Bilgy, San Francisc State University iral aspects f captive-released birds be dcumented and as much infrma tin as pssible n the life histry f the wild ppulatins be btained. Infrmatin gained frm such a study may be f value nt nly fr the endangered Bali Mynah as utlined belw, but will have applicatins t future captive prpagatin prgrams elsewhere. Fr example, majr effrts are nw under way fr the breeding f Hawaiian Hneycreepers and wrk is n-ging t breed the critically endangered Hawaiian Crw Crvus trpicus (F. Duval pers. cmm.). Editr's Nte: The Bali Mynah release prject was funded in part by AFA with a majr prtin dnated by an AFA member club, West Valley Bird Sciety fsuthern Califmia. Backgrund andjustificatin The Bali Mynah Leucpsar rthschildi is critically endangered and the nly endemic bird fund n the island f Bali. With white plumage and mask f naked blue skin, the Bali Mynah is regarded as the wrld's mst stunning representative f the Sturnidae family (King 1978). Referred t by a variety f cmmn names including Bali Mynah, Bali Starling, Rthschild's Mynah, r jalak putih as it is knwn by the Balinese, this handsme bird was declared the prvincial symbl f the island in 1989 (ICBP 1992). Histrically, ppulatins were believed t be cnfined t dry savanna frest habitat in the nrthwest sectin f the island (ICBP 1992). Currently, the wild ppulatin is in decline with apprximately 34 individuals lcated in a small sectin f native dry savanna frest, within Bali Barat atinal Park n the west end f the island (van Balen 1993). Individuals are easily maintained in captivity, a fact that irnically has led t the near extirpatin in the wild. In the 1960s, the Bali Mynah was trapped intensively t supply the demands f Indnesian, American and Eurpean private aviculturists. In 1966, the Internatinal Unin fr the Cnservatin f Nature and atural Resurces (IUC ) listed the species as endangered. The Indnesian gvernment respnded with a 1971 law prhibiting hunting, capture and explt. Hwever, this law has prven t be difficult t enfrce. Whereas the wild ppulatin declined

IELTS SPEAKING: SAMPLE ANSWERS Part 2 & 3

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