Today's birdy item from the BBC

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

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Not a parrot person by the look of things.

[mdg1109]

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Not a parrot person by the look of things.

Wow...I can understand the element of surprise but she still kept freaking out. At least she went back and made friends.

[Mare]

Smart bird! That's ONE way to find your owners! :)

[Pudgerigar]

To be fair, any unknown parrot landing on you in Australia has got to be a bit terrifying. Land of murderbirds.


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[mdg1109]

To be fair, any unknown parrot landing on you in Australia has got to be a bit terrifying. Land of murderbirds.


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Too funny be careful though now we are going to start seeing signs that say "all birds matter" lol....my corny attempt at being funny

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I had to google that as I had never heard of a Murder bird. Its a Bush stone Curlew
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Looks like it need a good meal.:)

[mdg1109]

I had to google that as I had never heard of a Murder bird. Its a Bush stone Curlew
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Looks like it need a good meal.:)

Umm why are they called murder birds?

Mental note Australia has a murderous bird....

[LunaLovebird]

They're totally harmless, if not impressively loud. We had a wild pair at the sanctuary I used to work at.

[LunaLovebird]

It's the cassowaries you have to worry about.

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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Aye, you wouldn't want one of those kicking your shins.

[PlaxMacaws]

Aye, you wouldn't want one of those kicking your shins.My understanding is that Cassowaries may do more than merely kicking your shins... it seems that they are prone toward eviscerating you as well :th_eek:

[Pudgerigar]

Australian magpies are the real murderbirds.


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[LunaLovebird]

My understanding is that Cassowaries may do more than merely kicking your shins... it seems that they are prone toward eviscerating you as well :th_eek:

More the latter than the former, too. I have a friend who used to live in North QLD, where they come from. Her school camps in the forest where often interrupted by cassowary sightings. As if the spiders and snakes aren't enough to watch for.

[LunaLovebird]

Australian magpies are the real murderbirds.


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I've lived here 17 years this year, and never once been attacked. My boyfriend moved over from America 2 years ago and within a month, he was attacked twice. My brother then moved over from NZ, and the same thing. And they're so persistent.

[PlaxMacaws]

More the latter than the former, too. I have a friend who used to live in North QLD, where they come from. Her school camps in the forest where often interrupted by cassowary sightings. As if the spiders and snakes aren't enough to watch for.That's rather scary!

[PlaxMacaws]

Australian magpies are the real murderbirds.A good friend of mine who lives in Victoria, AU has a special relationship with the magpies there. She has done, and continues to do some amazing things with them. She has trained them to do quite a few things, including to paint portraits with their feet. She even allows them into her home where they seem to be remarkably well behaved. Below is her FB page link:

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Danielle is as well a parrot person. Among her flock, she has a Galah and a Sulfur Crested Too. In fact, the bird on the far right side of PP's banner is her SC2, Barney :)

[The Pinkertons]

Australia has some of the most diverse Avian spices, I'm in awe of the flora and fauna of the land down under

[The Pinkertons]

A good friend of mine who lives in Victoria, AU has a special relationship with the magpies there. She has done, and continues to do some amazing things with them. She has trained them to do quite a few things, including to paint portraits with their feet. She even allows them into her home where they seem to be remarkably well behaved. Below is her FB page link:

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Danielle is as well a parrot person. Among her flock, she has a Galah and a Sulfur Crested Too. In fact, the bird on the far right side of PP's banner is her SC2, Barney :) That's cool Tony :loveit:

[The Pinkertons]

I've lived here 17 years this year, and never once been attacked. My boyfriend moved over from America 2 years ago and within a month, he was attacked twice. My brother then moved over from NZ, and the same thing. And they're so persistent. I have always wanted to visit New Zealand, I am enchanted with that part of the world

[The Pinkertons]

My understanding is that Cassowaries may do more than merely kicking your shins... it seems that they are prone toward eviscerating you as well :th_eek: Wow!

[Pudgerigar]

Cassowaries = actual dinosaurs. I love them. From over here in the US >_>


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[LunaLovebird]

I have always wanted to visit New Zealand, I am enchanted with that part of the world


It's beautiful. I come from there originally. I'd never move back, but it's a nice (not to mention close) place to visit. A number of years ago I was on holiday there and met some wild kea in the alps, which was pretty neat. Thankfully they weren't destroying the car we were in!

[mdg1109]

They're totally harmless, if not impressively loud. We had a wild pair at the sanctuary I used to work at.

Thank you for the heads up Jean-Pierre.

[The Pinkertons]

It's beautiful. I come from there originally. I'd never move back, but it's a nice (not to mention close) place to visit. A number of years ago I was on holiday there and met some wild kea in the alps, which was pretty neat. Thankfully they weren't destroying the car we were in! All can say is wow!

[Lady]

I love the look of the Bush stone Curlew, with those big bright eyes and striped feathers. The cassowaries are quite intimidating to me and for sure I would stay clear of them. I do however love the beautiful blue color the one in the pic is sporting. I haven't google about them but for sure those feet are strong and those nails are sharp for a good reason. I suspect for defense and maybe for finding food in the wild.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Today a new item about red pigments in birds on the Beeb. Enjoy:)
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Here's a teaser
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[The Pinkertons]

Did You Know ...Major Mitchell's, aka (Leadbeaters) Cockatoos are the only Avian Species that are genetically imprinted with naturally occurring red/pink factor in their DNA CODE.

Case in point to your very informative interesting article is the "Pink Flamingo" their main food source are shrimp which contain high levels of Astaxanthin...


REFERANCED WIKIPEDIA= Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid. It belongs to a larger class of chemical compounds known as terpenes, which are built from five carbon precursors; isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate. Astaxanthin is classified as a xanthophyll, but currently employed to describe carotenoid compounds that have oxygen-containing moities, hydroxyl or ketone, such as zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin. Indeed, astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxanthin and/or canthaxanthin, containing both hydroxyl and ketone functional groups. Like many carotenoids, astaxanthin is a colorful, lipid-soluble pigment. This colour is due to the extended chain of conjugated double bonds at the centre of the compound. This chain of conjugated double bonds is also responsible for the antioxidant function of astaxanthin as it results in a region of decentralized electrons that can be donated to reduce a reactive oxidizing molecule.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

REFERANCED WIKIPEDIA= Astaxanthin

I understood every word of that... except the long ones. :)

I knew about flamingos and I think I read that some canaries were turned red by feeding them cayenne (or something), must have been before selective breeding became the norm.

[The Pinkertons]

I understood every word of that... except the long ones. :)

I knew about flamingos and I think I read that some canaries were turned red by feeding them cayenne (or something), must have been before selective breeding became the norm.I believe so...I think most ''Naturally sourced'' deeply colored foods enhance the melanocytes (Cells that manufacture Pigment) in Human Skin or the pigment controlling factors in Avian Species and other Animals.

Interesting is, besides producing color, "Phytonutrients" also protect our skin from the cumulative effects of uva/uvb= ultra violet aging/ultra violet burning rays of the sun. That destroys the telomeres' of our DNA strands CAUSING PREMATURE AGENG OFTHE SKN.

Along with, the added bonus of enhancing the longevity of our cells, by helping to take the "spin off" the oxidative action of free radical damage . In essence,we all should, including our birds, load-up on nutrient dense foods . Foods with Color ...Eat The Rainbow!

[PlaxMacaws]

I remember about telomeres. They bind together and protect the ends of the chromosomes from unraveling like the plastic sleeves on shoelace ends (effect: the DNA strands begin to unwind and fray). So when telomeres start degrading, we have literally started falling apart... likely never to fully recover. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this.

[The Pinkertons]

I remember about telomeres. They bind together and protect the ends of the chromosomes from unraveling like the plastic sleeves on shoelace ends (effect: the DNA strands begin to unwind and fray). So when telomeres start degrading, we have literally started falling apart... likely never to fully recover. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this. You are absolutely correct !...
Tony get's A+ Today in Cellular Biology :loveit:

Point in question : although we cannot replace frayed strands... science has proven we can "seal off" per say the "spin" to some extent and slow down progression . stem cell technology is in it's infancy. To some degree we can prevent the accelerated premature aging of the Mitochondria. .:th_smile:

[PlaxMacaws]

You are absolutely correct !...
Tony get's A+ Today in Cellular Biology :loveit:Gee, I feel special :D. But instead of "effect:", I meant to type "effect of unraveling:" ... you obviously got what I meant, though :)


Point in question : although we cannot replace frayed strands... science has proven we can "seal off" per say the "spin" to some extent and slow down progression . stem cell technology is in it's infancy. To some degree we can prevent the accelerated premature aging of the Mitochondria. .:th_smile:So it sounds like it's currently only possible to slow the rate of degradation. And my guess is that the degree of rate reduction that's possible would be dependent upon how far one's telomeres have already deteriorated. Am I right about that, too?

[Mare]

In "English"..please. My son, Wyatt, who is in med school might recognize what you speak of. Please give us some layman terms :)

[PlaxMacaws]

In "English"..please. My son, Wyatt, who is in med school might recognize what you speak of. Please give us some layman terms :)Mare, my understanding is this: If we imagine DNA strands as shoelaces, the telomeres would be like the plastic sleeves/caps on the shoelace ends that keep the laces from unraveling. As we age and our cells are exposed to increasing free radicals, our telomeres become shorter and shorter. When they become too short, our DNA strands no longer have enough on their ends to hold them together. So our DNA helixes effectively begin to fall apart... and so do we :(

Hopefully that's easier to understand. Suzanne can tell you if I am correct, or she can correct my explanation if I am not.

[The Pinkertons]

Gee, I feel special :D. But instead of "effect:", I meant to type "effect of unraveling:" ... you obviously got what I meant, though :)

So it sounds like it's currently only possible to slow the rate of degradation. And my guess is that the degree of rate reduction that's possible would be dependent upon how far one's telomeres have already deteriorated. Am I right about that, too?Right again ! Tony has now Graduated with a Doctorate in Cellular Biology... summa cum laude, meaning "with highest honor" Other Mentions: Respectfully... With a Special Interest In the Health ,Wellness, And Safety Of the Companion Avian Group =Psittaformes (Parrots)

[The Pinkertons]

Mare, my understanding is this: If we imagine DNA strands as shoelaces, the telomeres would be like the plastic sleeves/caps on the shoelace ends that keep the laces from unraveling. As we age and our cells are exposed to increasing free radicals, our telomeres become shorter and shorter. When they become too short, our DNA strands no longer have enough on their ends to hold them together. So our DNA helixes effectively begin to fall apart... and so do we :(

Hopefully that's easier to understand. Suzanne can tell you if I am correct, or she can correct my explanation if I am not. Here's A Link [Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Aglets... the things on the ends of shoe laces to stop them fraying are called Aglets. (Is there a smug grin smiley). :)

[Shyra]

I don't think most people really think about how food does affect color in diets. I know I didn't. Texture yes but not color. A few years ago I fed my birds Tropicana biscuits mixed in with their dry food. They loved them but they are so hard to find. Anyway, my grey girl's light colored feathers started turning pink. Worried me sick at first. I couldn't figure it out and finally started looking at her diet. Contacted Hagen who makes the the Tropican brand and they told me their product provides the perfect nutrients that bring out the red factor coloring in parrots. Afterwards, I posted on a group only to find out that was common knowledge among the experienced parrot owners.

It does make you wonder though. Tropican pellets are known for bringing out the red in birds especially greys through nutrition. So why doesn't brands like Harrison and Roudybush being they are considered to be two of the top brands? Makes you wonder. It also makes me wonder if some of those red factor greys that people get then lose all their red after their first molt is because of diet. Things that make you go hmmmm?

[The Pinkertons]

Aglets... the things on the ends of shoe laces to stop them fraying are called Aglets. (Is there a smug grin smiley). :)

I think so let me look... :smug:
this is as smug as it gets!

[PlaxMacaws]

Or this one -> :pride:

[The Pinkertons]

I don't think most people really think about how food does affect color in diets. I know I didn't. Texture yes but not color. A few years ago I fed my birds Tropicana biscuits mixed in with their dry food. They loved them but they are so hard to find. Anyway, my grey girl's light colored feathers started turning pink. Worried me sick at first. I couldn't figure it out and finally started looking at her diet. Contacted Hagen who makes the the Tropican brand and they told me their product provides the perfect nutrients that bring out the red factor coloring in parrots. Afterwards, I posted on a group only to find out that was common knowledge among the experienced parrot owners.

It does make you wonder though. Tropican pellets are known for bringing out the red in birds especially greys through nutrition. So why doesn't brands like Harrison and Roudybush being they are considered to be two of the top brands? Makes you wonder. It also makes me wonder if some of those red factor greys that people get then lose all their red after their first molt is because of diet. Things that make you go hmmmm? Not if genetic mutation ...if it is a genetic mutation food rich in the carotenes would deepen the red factor in the plumage. example people who overload on carrot juice get an orange pigment to their skin.

[The Pinkertons]

Or this one -> :pride: Yea but if you put your cursor over it says pride

[PlaxMacaws]

Yea but if you put your cursor over it says prideI know. But the expression looks very smug to me ;)

[The Pinkertons]

I know. But the expression looks very smug to me ;) It does...and the one at the end this looks even summger
:th_Coffee3::th_pinklol:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

What have I started? :)

[The Pinkertons]

What have I started? :) Oh no here we go again...:th_eek:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Today, we have news of an orange seagull in Wales :)
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[Lady]

Orange you glad you weren't there to see it :pinkgrin:?

[plax]

I have to say that it's quite a nice shade of orange :). However, I'm glad to know they were able to tidy him back to a normal shade of white & gray. It appears the odor may be with him for a while yet, though :nightmare:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

No mention of them now selling seagull flavoured curry sauce :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Wow... an around the world sailing chicken called Monique
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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Peregrine falls
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[Dragonlady2]

I love how those Peregrine chicks look. So soft and fluffy. Amazing how they can adapt to their living environment.

[Lady]

I would think hunting would be an instinct but guess not since he was so malnourished when he was found. Wonder if there is a story about how he was discovered on the church grounds? Poor little guy, why didn't the mamma look for him to see he was okay?

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I think Peregrines have to fly to hunt, swooping down on their prey. If he was injured then that would be a problem. I expect his mum had her claws full looking after the rest of the brood, too busy to nurse a sick and remote from the nest offspring.
Our next door neighbour had a young jackdaw tapping on the window today. She had rather a shock that it was a big black bird knocking to come in.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Song birds in Java nearing extinction in the wild

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[Dragonlady2]

We must of posted at the same time...lol.
Interesting article. I am happy to see efforts to start a breeding program so that poaching or wild caught birds don't bring in any money. Although, I am not necessarily for breeding, this may save the wild ones from extinction.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Traumatic time for this poor bird in Singapore
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[Dragonlady2]

:th_omg:. I absolutely hate snakes and to see one of them wrapped around one of my bird cages would send me over the edge!

[PlaxMacaws]

That poor bird! Please know that I don't hate snakes. What I hate is that it's their nature to eat defenseless prey animals. I used to keep large pythons, and it quite frankly devastated me that they had to be fed small mammals. It's for that very reason that I stopped keeping snakes. Feeding them was immeasurably upsetting for me. I will also say that the snake in that photo is a beautiful Reticulated Python. I had two of those that were much larger than that one. My largest Retic was 20.5 feet long. But I am not sorry snakes are out of my life.

[Dragonlady2]

That poor bird! Please know that I don't hate snakes. What I hate is that it's their nature to eat defenseless prey animals. I used to keep large pythons, and it quite frankly devastated me that they had to be fed small mammals. It's for that very reason that I stopped keeping snakes. Feeding them was immeasurably upsetting for me. I will also say that the snake in that photo is a beautiful Reticulated Python. I had two of those that were much larger than that one. My largest Retic was 20.5 feet long. But I am not sorry snakes are out of my life.

HELLO! 20 feet! That's longer than some of the rooms in my house. I will say that some of the snakes I have seen pics of have beautiful coloring. I think it would make me nauseous to feed live animals.

[PlaxMacaws]

HELLO! 20 feet! That's longer than some of the rooms in my house. I will say that some of the snakes I have seen pics of have beautiful coloring. I think it would make me nauseous to feed live animals.Yes. It made me nauseous... AND I felt complicit in the brutal slaughter of innocent beings :'(

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper was giving alarm calls today whilst looking out of the window in my office at the top of the house. He had spotted a cat hunting in the long grass in the field over the road and was presumably trying to warn the other birds.

[Lady]

Geez, what a frightening photo. I'm not ready to read the article but I will muster up the nerve another day. Having to watch any animal big or small capture and eat another animal for survival is difficult and I will not watch either although we all know it is the way of the world. I think if I lived on a farm and raised animals I would be a vegetarian.
Now that I'm thinking about it.... if I had to do any of the "dirty work" I couldn't.

[Lady]

Well the article didn't have much to say about how Nikki the bird is doing except the following morning she wasn't chirping as usual. Hopefully they won't have to deal with such an encounter any time soon. I also hope they decide to make a safe place for their bird by maybe hanging the cage out of harms way.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

In Australia cockatoos chew billion-dollar broadband cables
I have edited the headline for grammatical correctness but can't do anything about the usual rubbish exaggeration that they consider attention grabbing.
(I think they employ children to look after the news website, they certainly do not use proof checkers)
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Why didn't they armour the cables from new, Cockatoos have been around a lot longer than the internet chomping on anything that is likely to cause trouble?

[Dragonlady2]

Wonder why they don't go underground? Our fiber optics here are underground.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

So are ours but installation costs are higher so Australia obviously took the cheapskate option :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

More bird smugglers caught in Indonesia
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[Dragonlady2]

I had no idea that there were so few white cockatoos left...I had the impression there were lots of them left in the wild.
It's kind of disheartening to think of the amount of smuggling of wild birds still going on.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I don't know if the Filipino cockatoos are a different type to those in Australia - I think they still have plenty

[Lady]

Sad :'(.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Aye, I hate hate hate seeing them stuffed into water bottles or a bit of pipe, they must have a very poor opinion of the human race. :(

[PlaxMacaws]

Aye, I hate hate hate seeing them stuffed into water bottles or a bit of pipe, they must have a very poor opinion of the human race. :(And I share that very poor opinion :'(. Too much of humanity is greedy and lacking empathy. In many cases, humans are as well quite sadistic... especially to those they hold some power over :(

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

News from the Netherlands about feral parakeets. They have only just started appearing in gardens around us in south-east England.
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[Dragonlady2]

I am guessing that a lot of countries have similar issues with a species of parrot becoming invasive. It's odd that they adapt so well to different environments, but in some cases, can't adapt to their changing natural habitat.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Happy news from Australia/New Zealand where a galah has stowed away on a cruise ship and has been given his own cabin till the ship returns to Australia. I wonder if the owners will get the bill.
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[Lady]

Harri's a cutie~

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

An item on birds crashing into windows, which is a problem we have with the reflection of our yew tree in our house front windows. It is usually the young birds that do it in the spring. Their parents are not giving them a proper education. We put coloured glass and strips of red tape to try and make them aware that it is just a reflection.
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[Dragonlady2]

We have the same problem. In one window we have made a cat seat and our one cat who eats and sleeps up there seems to be a bit of a deterrent.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Perhaps we should put cat pictures in the window :)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Today's video is fun!
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[Dragonlady2]

I love crows...not in my yard though. They are fascinating creatures and their abilities are really underestimated. I would love to be outside and hear a crow talking to me.

[Lady]

What a surprise it must be to hear a bird outside of a home speaking to strangers. I hope the owner finds him or at least someone rescues it in hopes that the owner can be reunited. Otherwise I can only imagine it learned speech from hearing so many other people while out and about.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

It must be an escapee, we don't have crows in that colourway here :)
I would hope that the guardian would see or be told of the newsreel and rush to get the bird back. It is frustrating that the follow-up stories never get as far as the national news. Journalism today... tsk.

[LesliesBabies]

It's the cassowaries you have to worry about.

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I'm from a Dixie state in the USA and didn't know that cassowaries actually exist. (Keep in mind that most of my neighbors' history lessons come from tv shows like Hogan's Heroes and, if it weren't for Trump, lots of my neighbors wouldn't believe Russia was real.)

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Not all cats are bad!
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[LesliesBabies]

Yes, they are!!! (except DanDan)

[Lady]

I agree that bad isn't the correct word. They do what comes natural to them. I'm very glad that this one was fetching and not out on the street trying to survive as we know the ending could of been heartbreaking for the owner of Rosie Bloom.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Parrot swears at London firefighter trying to rescue it from roof
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[Dragonlady2]

I saw this one too....reminded me of my Joey. He drops the “f” bomb anytime something new is happening, particularly new people in the house, like repairmen.:th_LOL:
Hopefully the owners were able to get him down.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Yep, he's back home but I hope he isn't restricted to his cage for bad behaviour - he obviously was just enjoying a bit of freedom but did eventually return to his guardian.

[LesliesBabies]

Never imagined the very limited budgie vocabulary was such a good thing!

[Dragonlady2]

Budgies are underestimated regarding their speaking ability. They have amazing abilities. Look up Disco the talking budgie. He was awesome.

[LesliesBabies]

Well, maybe I should have said, "Never imagined the very limited vocabulary of my budgies' was such a good thing!"

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

WARNING Today's item contains extreme cuteness
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[Dragonlady2]

Oh my goodness....little balls cuteness.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

More cuteness, this time baby puffins
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This is one of my photos of an adult taken on a sailing trip up the east coast of England just as far as the first harbour in Scotland and back.
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Puffin ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]) by Jean-Pierre Declemy ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]), on Flickr

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Clever crows are solving problems by making tools :awesome-smiley-emot
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[Dragonlady2]

Great article. Crows are fascinating and there are so many stories of their cognitive abilities as well as their gift giving.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Today its a Scottish parrot. No, not a McCaw :)
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They've got the same cage and backpack as Casper!

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

How about a million dollar pigeon?
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Looking like a million dollars, I wonder if he will get his loft redecorated? :)

[Dragonlady2]

Wow....that’s crazy. I wonder how long a pigeon lives.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

I'm not sure but I think he wlll be enjoying his retirement :wink-new:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Today's item is blessed with baby bird cuteness, enjoy :)
Rare New Zealand parakeet has best breeding season in decades
Link to article
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[Dragonlady2]

I had heard about these little cuties and how endangered they were. This is great news. I saw a related article about banning cats. Cats kill millions of fledglings yearly. A restriction on having outdoor cats would go a long way to aiding the survival of a lot of species.