Mar - Apr 2017, Volume 27 Issue 2

There is a well known proverb that states, from little acorns, big trees grow! And none could be more factual than the growth of the Parrot Society of Australia Inc. We have grown from a small club with twenty or so members who answered the call from John Barber and Noel Ganley for interested Aviculturists in forming an incorporated bird club. I guess it would be fair to say, that they would never have dreamt that a small advertisement in the local paper would one day culminate in it becoming one of the largest and Premier Parrot Societies in Australia, with members from all over the world. Now at the grand age of 83, Noel can look back and rightly say with pride, I helped start what has become an Avicultural journey for so many bird lovers throughout the world.

The Bluethroated or Caninde Macaw as it was formerly called is one of the most rare and endangered macaws in the wild. It is found in the northern province of Beni in Bolivia where it is distributed in savanna areas which are partly flooded for part of the year. We have kept and bred other species of macaws in the past, but Bluethroated macaws are extraordinarily prolific.

The Crimson-bellied Conure (Pyrrhura perlata) is undoubtedly one of my favourite species. All the Pyrrhuras make wonderful aviary birds, but for me, the beauty of the Crimson-bellied sets it apart. A quick look at the species and you are dazzled by the crimson breast and under wing coverts but examine the plumage carefully, and you see a multitude of colours. The colours are complex, and the green plumage is more blue than might be realised.