Gems of the Territory - A look at the Hooded Parrot

Cock Hooded Parrot

The Hooded Parrot of Australia comes from the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory is a place of great extremes, which is known for its wildlife, heat and wet seasons. Confined to the North of the Territory these birds range from common to uncommon. Pine Creek is a good place for sighting these birds in the wild and as a matter of fact the species is so common in Pine Creek that it can be considered somewhat of a garden bird.

Stimulus for Parrots - Made Easy

Young Black-headed Caique chewing Bottlebrush

Parrots require a great amount of stimulus. Within captivity we the keepers supply our parrots with food, water and shelter which are the essentials to survive and if required breed. All of this is often supplied without them having to do much work. It is often a case of the bird just having to fly down from the perch to access their food and water.

Scrap Wire - A useful commodity

Most aviary builds see an amount of scrap wire left over

Many of us build our aviaries only to have scraps of wire left over at the end of the project. The wire has already cost a small fortune and unfortunately now a lot of it has to be thrown away. But why? Often it is because much of these off cuts are so small or oddly shaped and just don't fit in with our plans. As such they are discarded or left to rust when they maybe of more use to us then we first thought. 

Remnants of Paradise

Termite Mounds were used for nesting by the Paradise Parrot

Recently I was driving through habitat that was once part of the Paradise Parrots former range. The Paradise Parrot (Psephotus pulcherriumus) has been extinct for quite some time now (having last been seen around 1927) and although there is a view by some that it still exists, this is rather unlikely. Take a look in the collection of many museums around the world and you will find a cabinet holding the skins of this little Aussie parrot. Aside from some great photos and notes on the birds, skins and some eggs are about all we have left of the bird.