with a small farm that was on the edge of a very thick forest. He had never seen a Ruppell’s parrot in his life before but his farm was right in the middle of their reported territory. He wanted to extend his farm and was constantly asking the government for permission to cut down more forest to give him more farming land. After some time the government gave him permission to cut down just a few hectares of forest to extend his farm and as soon as they started cutting down the trees Ruppell’s parrots were flying about everywhere. He said the forest was quite dark but the thing that caught his eye most was the yellow wing butts of the birds that seemed to flash like lights as they were flying out of the dark forest. So with this information and my


Ruppells parrot flying out of a dark area showing how its wing butts catch the light.


experience with Ruppell’s since I first bred them it is obvious they need seclusion to breed satisfactorily in captivity. For this an outside flight with a nest box in a very secluded area of the flight is necessary to achieve the best results. To achieve this I grow a creeping plant such as Ivy or a Russian vine etc., at the most secluded end of the flight and in it the nest box is placed. The type of nest box that I have had the best results from is an upright Amazon type box, but with a hollowed out log entrance hole of about 3 to 4 inches or more long. This is placed in the creeper or vine with only about half of the actual box showing. I have also noticed the best breeding results also seem to be where the entrance to the box faces the early morning sun. If you have a very large


28 BIRD SCENE


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