Exotic Birds I
Dr. N. Matthew Ellinwood, D.V.M., Ph.D.
March 7, 2012
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES
Companion Animal Birds
• Diverse group
• Recent and incomplete domestication
• Populations established from released birds
– Quaker or Monk Parakeets
• San Francisco
• Miami
Species Types
• Passerine birds
– Passeriformes
• Gallinaceous fowl
• Anseriformes
– Ducks and Geese
• Rattites
– Emu and Ostrich
• Psittacines
Psittacine Introduction
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bill
Upright
Legs
Zygodactyly
Seeds, nuts, fruit, insects, small animals, sheep
Sexually Monomorphic
– Minimally sexually dimorphic
– DNA Sex testing
• Psittacineformes: 3 families: 90 genra: 370 species
Psittacine Systematics
•
•
•
•
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
– Family: Cacatuidae (Cockatoos)
– Family Psittacidae (True Parrots INCLUDING
LORIES AND LORIKEETS)
– Family Strigopidae (New Zealand Parrots)
• 4 sps, not companion animals, incld raptor like, and
ground dwelling birds
New World Psittacines
• Macaws
–
–
–
–
Hyacinth
Military
Blue and Gold
Scarlet
Macaws
•
•
•
•
Long lived (100 years)
South American
Large
Companionable and demanding
• Anodorhynchus
– Genus of large macaws
• Hyacinth Macaw
– Longest of the macaws
• Also the much rarer but
similar indigo macaw
– AKA Lear’s Macaw
Ara Genus of Parrots
• Additional group of large
macaws
• 8 surviving species and
one extinct
– Cuban red macaw
• Blue and Yellow Macaw
• Blue Throated Macaw
• Critically endangered
• Easily kept
• Miltary Macaw
• Great green Macaw
– Larger than military
• Scarlet Macaw
• Red and green Macaw
• AKA
• Green winged Macaw
• Red fronted macaw
• Chestnut fronted
macaw
Exotic Birds
(The Amazons)
Genus Amazona
• Medium sized
• New world
• South America, Mexico, Central America,
and the Caribbean
Amazona
• Family: Psittacidae
• Subfamily: Psittacinae
– True parrots (including lories,
lorikeets, and excluding cockatoos)
• Tribe: Arini
– Neotropical parrots
• Genus: Amazona
Amazons
•
•
•
•
•
•
Large to medium/small
Short bodied
Short tailed
Mexico to South America
Primarily green
Named for
– Location, eponyms, colors
•
•
•
•
Nuts, seeds, and fruits
Talkes
Companions
Endangered (captive bred)
Yellow Headed Amazon
• Mexico and C Am.
• Mangroves and forests
near water
• Endangered
• Excellent talker
– Second to African Grey
Yellow-naped Amazon
•
•
•
•
•
Pacific coast, Mexico to Costa Rica
Yellow crowned subspecies
Playful
Talkative
Nest protective
– Males esp
• Blue variant
Orange-winged Amazon
• Large
• South American, Columbia to Trinidad and
Tobago (Caribbean islands) south to Peru
• Agriculture pest and pet trade
Blue Fronted Amazon
•
•
•
•
South American
Large
Among more common
Variably as talkative as
Yellow headed
• Singers.
Yellow faced Parrot
• Mountains of Brazil and
Bolivia
• Previously an Amazon
• Now a short tailed
parrot
• In the monotypic genus:
– Alipiopsitta
Cockatoos
• family Cacatuidae
• 21 species
• Australasia
– Philippines, Indonesian island, New
Guinea, the Solomon Islands,
Australia.
• Cockatoo (Malay via Dutch)
– parrot, or older sister, grip, call
Cockatoos
• Physical characteristics
–
–
–
–
–
Movable head crest
Carotid anatomy
Skull anatomy
A gall bladder
No Dyck texture feathers
Cockatoos
• Systematics in a state of flux
– 21 species in 7 genera
• 3 Proposed subfamilies
• Subfamily Microglossinae
– Singleton species, Palm Cockatoo
• Subfamily Calyptorhynchinae: dark cockatoos
• Subfamily Cacatuinae: white cockatoos
Cockatoos
•
•
•
•
•
Affectionate and interactive
Captive bred
Long lived and demanding
Tend to be less vocal
Not to be recommended for junior or inexperienced
owners
– Exception is the cockatiel (smallest cockatoo species)
Budgerigar
•
•
•
•
•
•
Small
Relatively short lived
Less demanding
Best starter bird
Wild type coloring shown
Not a cockatoo family member, but
from Australia
Cockatiels
• Excellent intermediate
companion bird
• Interactive and
affectionate without
significant problems
• Moderately long lived
– 15-20 years
• Many color variations
– Wild type shown
Large Cockatoos
• Bond Strongly with Owner
• Easily bored
– Stereotypes, destructive,
raucous behavior
– Long lived (70-100 years)
• Only for the most expert
bird keeper and enthusiast
Major Mitchells Cockatoo
White Cockatoo
• AKA Umbrella Cockatoo
• Very affectionate
• Kept since Tang Dynasty
– ~600-900 CE
• Gift to HRE Fredrick II
• Cuddling predilection
• Velcro birds
Salmon Crested Cockatoo
•
•
•
•
•
AKA Moloccan Cockatoo
Threatened
Illegal to import
Among most demanding
Performers at animal shows
Aviculture
• Wild breeding patterns
– Monogamous
– Cavity nesters
– Hand rearing
Cockatoos
• Intermediate Pet Cockatoos
• Galahs
• Goffin’s
– AKA Tanimbar Corella
Miscellanea
• Endangered or threatened status
• Pest Status
• Social nature
– Flock behavior
• Musical responses
New world Parrots
• Non-Macaw,
non-Amazon
• Pionus
– New world, smaller,
less active,
demanding, and vocal
then Amazons
– Short, stocky, squared
tailed bare eye ring
Caiques
•
•
•
•
•
•
Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Psittacinae
Tribe: Arini
Genus: Pionites
Black headed
White bellied
Caiques
• Activity
– Walking/climbing verusus flying
– “Surfing”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw_sVuu4KE0
– “Relatively” quieter
– Poor talkers
– Not a beginning bird
Conures
•
•
•
•
Small South American psittacines
Long tailed
Once designated a genus
Current systemics
– Conures are members of up to 10 genera
• Term being replaced by parakeet in
ornithological community
• Fancy aviculture term persists
Quaker or Monk Parakeet
Sun Conure
AKA Sun Parakeet
Carolina Parakeet
Dusky-headed Conure
Half Moon Conure
(Orange-fronted Parakeet)
• Non-native colony in Long Beach
African Psittacines
• African Grey
• Congo (larger, greyer, cherry red)
• Timneh (small, darker, maroon tail)
Intelligence
• Brain to body size in some psittacines and
corvidae approach humans
• Brain usage (small cerebral cortex)
• May use different part
• Require stimulation as
young to prevent
stereotypes
Alex and N’kisi
• N’kisi
–
–
–
–
950 word vocabulary
Grasp of grammar (makes up verb forms)
Creates phrases
Not academically assessed
• Alex/Irene Pepperberg
– 50 object name recognition
– Number to six, seven colors, and concepts
(bigger, smaller, same, different, over, under)
– Language, 150 words, pronouns (I and you)
– Sarcasm/boredom
Love Birds
•
•
•
•
•
Genus Agapornis
9 species
Africa/Madagascar
Pair bonding, affectionate nature
Pairs
Misc Short Tailed African Parrots
• Poicephalus
–
–
–
–
Senegal Parrot
Meyer's Parrot
Jardine's Parrot
Brown-headed Parrot
Passerines
• Common Hill Myna
– (Myna – any Indian bird of the Starling family)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Omnivorous
Native to Southeast Asia
1990’s 20,000 in trade/yr
Captive bred/imported
Not endangered
Popularity
• Zebra
Finches
– Australian
– Research, neural basis of learning
• Gouldian Finches
– Australian (pot 100,000 pets)
– Color variants in fancy
Canaries
• Finch song bird from Madeira, Azores, Canaries
• Bred, since 1600’s for
– Type
– Color
– Song (Harz Roller)
• Research model of neurogenesis
