FEATURE
So, how exactly do my experiences relate to my concerns? Well, if you excuse the pun, I have in effect been parachuted back into bird keeping after a gap of 20 years. What I now see is a real dearth of quality normal or wild coloured Australian Parakeets, with some other formerly established birds, like the stunning Cardinal Lories and Stellas Lorikeets have seemingly disappeared. I have found good quality normal Grass Parakeets particularly hard to find, most pairs being adulterated with mutation blood and throwing party coloured youngsters. I have just had the same experience with Yellow Fronted Kakarikis, having visited five breeders to buy normal pure bred YF Kakarikis, I finally found an unrelated pair, not carrying Red Fronted blood, yellow flecks, pied or lutino blood. Sadly, I checked their nestbox earlier this year to find the largest and eldest chick, was pinning up with yellow feathers and had clear red eyes, a lutino! I would hate to think that all these amazing parrotlike birds will not be able to be kept and bred by my daughters, only a handful of species in mutations resembling different sized Budgies! So a final plea, try and encourage someone to take up birdkeeping each year, they may well end up as the recipients of all the young stock you breed and hopefully sell each year. Lastly, try and make space for a pair of normal birds, especially the formally commoner species, be it Lovebirds, Grass Parakeets or Redrumps, you’ll probably find they hold their price and demand far longer than mutations in the long term.
CURRENT STATUS OF THE AUSTRALIAN PARAKEETS IN UNITED KINGDOM AVICULTURE
KING PARROT (Alisterus Scapularis)
Once considered a real avicultural rarity, the numbers of successful breeding pairs has increased apace over the last 10 years. This has resulted in a surplus of young birds and prices dropping considerably, with some breeders selling off successful adults pairs. It is likely that if this trend continues, fewer individuals will put down mature breeding pairs, with availability reducing and prices eventually turning a corner and increasing again. Size and intensity of red colouring does vary, though most birds are of a good quality. A washed out looking dilute mutation is being increasingly bred, as are yellow pied birds.
CRIMSON WINGED PARROT (Aprosmictus Erythropterus) Availability has remained pretty constant over recent years, with young stock normally being available. Prices asked for young birds have however dropped over recent years. The intensity of the black mantle on the cock birds does vary, possibly reflecting the birds distant heritage, as the wild population also shows this variation over it’s range. Birds originating from New Guinea having less back on the mantle and an overall longer, leaner body shape, characteristics which are even more defined in the Timor Crimson Wing.
BIRD SCENE 37
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