misc. bird photos - take a look!

[willowbirdy218]

That clears it up!! Thank you so much!

[The Outlaw]

I just love this entire thread. You are very educated in all of the birds you handle and we are quite lucky to have you among us. Thanks for sharing.

[Alika]

Originally Posted by Spinnergirl

Yeah at first glance the vultures don't really do anything for me either Willowbirdy!!
They might not have the looks but they seem to be the ones with the jokes (always better) IMO. I like the jokesters.

Now what about the Crow, do you find him/her a nice bird?? I remember my dad telling us he had one as a pet (a long time ago) he said it was a great bird. Can you tell us some things about your Crow?

Still can't imagine a 14lb bird on my arm, and then sometimes I have seen them try and fly and you got to try and get them back up on your arm that really looks hard and rather a difficult manuever to do. I imagine the wings alone could leave welts on a persons flesh.

Nice thread thanks for sharing!

Vultures are funny. You haven't lived until you've seen a vulture fly, then run/hop on the ground. They are so stinkin' cute! Our black vulture, once he gets to know you, will run up between your legs and beg for some lovin'. Hard not to love a bird like that.

Our crow is SMART. You think you have a smart bird? Forget it. This bird is always one step ahead of you. She escapes on volunteers ALL THE TIME, but she never goes very far. Crows have been known to make and use tools in the wild. We've actually seen her using a stick to get at some food that was outside her cage.

She doesn't like to sit still for too long, though. She'll start flapping to get away, and then if she still can't, she'll pound on your arm with that beak... and it hurts! Oh my goodness, I'd much rather get bit by an eagle than hammered by a crow! I went home one day with a bruise the size of my fist and a welt to match!

The corvids (crows, jays, magpies, etc.) have the most specialized diet of any of the birds we house. They get a wide variety every day. They are also able to mimic sounds and "talk". It's creepy when they do it, though. They flash their third eyelid, which is blue, and repeat things fast and furiously. It sounds a lot like a staticy radio. The first time I heard a magpie talk, I would have sworn it was possessed. Very scary!

As far as the eagles flying off the fist... that's called bating and, yes, it can be difficult to recover an eagle from a bate. Our bald eagle can and does fly, so she supports most of her weight when she bates. It's like holding back a rottweiler, only in the air, and then pulling it back to you. Our golden is different, though. She has both her wings, but her right wing was injured and has no lift to it. As a result, when she bates, she falls... that's 14 lbs of wriggling, flapping, moving bird that you have to pull back up on the glove... and it is difficult. In fact, I'm still trying to get the hang of it.

When the eagles bate, the wings aren't so bad... although they are likely to mess up your hair. But if you don't keep a good hold of those jesses (the leather straps on their feet) and that bird's feet get too far away from the glove, they can rip you open with their talons. My boss has told me horror stories about people she's known getting scars and stitches in their abdomen just from getting grazed by a bating eagle's talons! Come to think of it, I think she has one, too. Hasn't happened to me *yet*... :)

[Spinnergirl]

What can you tell us about the Toucan?

They are such unusual beautiful birds that can be sometimes found as pets. I have not seen one for sale (just heard about it).

I realize he's getting old. But do you have any information to share about him?

How are the Owls to handle, they look to have HUGE strong wings that could "wap" you pretty good.

Oh yeah I was LMAO about the comment you'd rather be biten by a Eagle than hammered by a Crow!! They must have piercing beaks!

[Peregrine Harlequin]

First off, thanks for sharing these pics, Alika. Though I'm extremely partial to the raptors, the crow pic was my favorite. Kind of reminds me of the fox terrier I used to have. It really is a shame they aren't sold as pets (that I know of, anyway). I'd get a kick out of reading all the "you won't believe what my sweet, darling little crow just did..." posts that would undoubtedly pop up here.

You might have mentioned this elsewhere, but where exactly do you work? And do you know how the whole license/permit situation works? With the raptors do you need a licensed falconer at the facility? Or can you get away with just some kind of education permit?

And what do you need to legally keep the eagles? They're probably the most protected native bird in the U.S. (at least on paper), so who do you need permits from?

Are the Harris' hawks easier to train and/or work with than red-tailed hawks? I recently read a discussion on another board about why apprentices should not be allowed to opt for the HH in some western states.

And finally, could you recommend any good raptor books? I'd love to get into falconry someday, but first I'll need to relocate. There's barely enough room to fly a kestrel around here anymore.

Sorry for all the questions. You don't have to answer all of them if it's too much trouble. I'd rather let you be with the birds than running around to look up all this stuff. Thanks for the pics, and thanks in advance for any answers you can give.

Oh, and just as a comparison to other birds, about how much does a 14 lb. eagle eat in the winter?

[Alika]

Oh, dear. I've really started something here, haven't I? LOL.

I'm surprised and delighted about the response I got from this thread. I kind of expected it to get ignored... don't know why... didn't think too many people would be interested, I guess.

I don't mind the questions. I'll answer them as I can. I am, after all, an educator :) Keep them coming.

Originally Posted by Spinnergirl

What can you tell us about the Toucan? They are such unusual beautiful birds that can be sometimes found as pets. I have not seen one for sale (just heard about it). I realize he's getting old. But do you have any information to share about him?

Toucans are hard to keep. I can't imagine keeping one as a pet, though I know some people do. I wouldn't try to keep one as anything more than just a hobby, to be honest. They need large cages... like, you'd have to build your own, I wouldn't keep one in a parrot cage. And being softbill,s they have specialized dietary needs. Tropical softbills tend to suffer from what's called iron storage disease in captivity. The theory is that in the rainforest the rain leaches all the iron out of their food, so their bodies go into iron storage over drive. In captivity, they don't have that problem, but their bodies don't know it, so they overdose themselves on iron. We have to be really careful about what we feed becaues of it.

Their large beaks are very light, and scientists aren't quite sure what they're used for, but there are a lot of theories. The best theories are about breeding and there's even one about thermoregulation; bigger beaks help cool them down the same way elephant's ears help them cool down.

Our toucan is the mascot of our aviary. It will be very sad when she leaves us. She was our hopper... she used to hop across pegs in our show. But, as I've already mentioned, she's been retired due to arthritis.

Originally Posted by Spinnergirl

How are the Owls to handle, they look to have HUGE strong wings that could "wap" you pretty good.

I've worked with barred owls, great-horned owls, barn owls, and screech owls. Of those four, the great-horned owls have the most powerful bates. Their wings are quite strong, and you can get knocked in the face pretty good with them. They are considered to be a good preparatory bird for an eagle... but they don't weigh nearly as much.

Originally Posted by Peregrine Harlequin

First off, thanks for sharing these pics, Alika. Though I'm extremely partial to the raptors, the crow pic was my favorite. Kind of reminds me of the fox terrier I used to have. It really is a shame they aren't sold as pets (that I know of, anyway). I'd get a kick out of reading all the "you won't believe what my sweet, darling little crow just did..." posts that would undoubtedly pop up here.

Yeah. American crows are protected because they are native. However, I've heard that you can import crows from other countries, like Africa. I'm not sure what kind of paperwork you'd have to do to get it here, but, apparently, once it's here it's legal.

Originally Posted by Peregrine Harlequin

You might have mentioned this elsewhere, but where exactly do you work? And do you know how the whole license/permit situation works? With the raptors do you need a licensed falconer at the facility? Or can you get away with just some kind of education permit?

I work at an aviary. I know that means a lot of different things to different people, so let me clarify. I basically work at a zoo that is devoted entirely to birds. We don't have any other kinds of animals. More specifically, I am a trainer and educator. I care for the birds in our education department, help train them, put on free flight summer shows at the aviary and school shows in the winter, and use birds in education programs for the public. The aviary carries an education permit. You only need a falconer's permit if you are going to hunt with your bird, which we obviously don't... and none of us are licensed falconers, although my boss and mentor was taught by falconers.

Originally Posted by Peregrine Harlequin

And what do you need to legally keep the eagles? They're probably the most protected native bird in the U.S. (at least on paper), so who do you need permits from?

I think we have a state permit for the eagles, but the permits thing gets confusing because we are AZA accredited. AZA is the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums... basically, if you are a zoo accredited by them, it means you're good and it makes you exempt from certain permits. We have stipulations on the eagles, though. For example, they have to be completely unreleasable and we have to send all the feathers to the government.

Originally Posted by Peregrine Harlequin

Are the Harris' hawks easier to train and/or work with than red-tailed hawks? I recently read a discussion on another board about why apprentices should not be allowed to opt for the HH in some western states.

I honestly don't know. I haven't had the pleasure of working with a red-tail, yet. But the harris' hawks are smart. They can learn anything really fast. And they're reliable. What I've heard about the whole HH/RT thing is that red-tails are harder than HH, so you should learn the harder bird first. (harder to manage, train, etc.)

Originally Posted by Peregrine Harlequin

And finally, could you recommend any good raptor books? I'd love to get into falconry someday, but first I'll need to relocate. There's barely enough room to fly a kestrel around here anymore.

I do have some books that I like. However, they are different than the ones the falconer's refer to as 'bibles'. I can give you my reading list, though... give me a little time to get it together, and I will PM it to you. Fair enough?

Originally Posted by Peregrine Harlequin

Oh, and just as a comparison to other birds, about how much does a 14 lb. eagle eat in the winter?

She eats about 3 rats a day... or 2 rats and 1 quail.

***

If anybody finds this thread, or any of my posts, annoying or bothersome, then I apologize. I'm trying really hard not to come off as a know-it-all just because I work with birds professionally. I am here because I love birds, and pet parrots are great! I think it's great to connect to people in the pet parrot community, because there are so many great things about parrots as pets that trainers and professionals often miss out on. I value everyone's opinion here, and I feel like I might be useful in some way or another.

Please PM me if you have any issues or if you feel like I am bragging, and I will tone it down. This thread was simply to share some birds with you that a lot of people don't often get to see... I didn't mean for it to turn into a discussion about my job and specifics on the birds I work with. I know that answering some of these questions makes me look like a know-it-all, but I don't... and I don't think I'm any better than the rest of you.

At the end of the day, I am a parront, too. Nothing more.

[kathyellen]

Hello!
This is absolutly FASINATING!
don't apologize, anyone that is not interested does not have to read it.

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge ( and pictures ) with us.

[LMPego]

Absolutely don't apologize. You are a great resource to have here. I loved all the pictures (kudos to your uncle) and thanks for answering all the questions about the different birds.
One more question: how did you get into your line of work? What was your background before getting your job?

[Alika]

Originally Posted by LMPego

One more question: how did you get into your line of work? What was your background before getting your job?

I've been interested in animal training for 7 years and have been studying as much as I could get my hands on. I did careers camp at Sea World two years in a row in high school, then went into Psychology (for behavior) at a community college.

To make a long story short, I went to the wrong school and picked the wrong major. I didn't end up graduating, but got married instead.

A little over a year ago I realized my life wasn't going in the direction I had planned. My husband and I moved to the city so that I could go to a real university and get my biology degree and volunteer to get some experience.

I started volunteering at the zoo as a docent and at the bird show at the aviary. I got some animal handling experience under my belt and learned a lot about using live animals to educate the public.

The following spring, I was offered an internship at the aviary. They liked me so much, they offered me a job at the end of my internship.

I still don't have my biology degree, but I'm working on it. I'm afraid I won't be able to go anywhere else ever if I don't get it, and I want it for personal development, anyway.

To get into this field, you generally need a combination of experience and a degree in life sciences. In my experience (from what I've seen, the people I know, and what I've been through) the experience working with animals is the most important thing, though college is now important, too. It is really hard to get a job like this straight out of college, so anyone who is interested should volunteer or get a job like a kennel tech at a vet clinic to get as much experience as possible. The aviary wouldn't have hired me if I had never handled a raptor before...

But it is doable. Anyone who is interested should go for it. It is very rewarding.

[Casa Amazona]

Alika, you come off as anything but a know-it-all. You seem really down to earth and knowledgable. This is one of the most fascinating threads to me that's ever appeared here.

Do you have to take any special precautions to avoid the possibility of transmitting diseases from the birds you work with to your own flock?

That vulture is absolutely fascinating to look at. It truly must be wonderful to be able to interact with such a wide variety of seldom-handled birds.