VOL 33 NO 05 Red-tailed Amazons, bees and drones To nest or not to nest Crimson Rosella breeding Information How To Buy Breeding Stock CONTENTS 3 VoLume 35 / Number 03 Editorial 4 Red-tailed Amazons, bees and drones The Red-tailed Amazons nest in forest of the low-lying islands and neighbouring coastal plains, where they face diverse challenges to reproduce successfully. 6 PVSA NUUS / PASA NEWS PASA well-known Focus /FOKUS magazine has been discontinued, as of this edition Avizandum will be the printed media PASA will be using to update its members. 8 TO NEST OR NOT TO NEST » p.8 What started as a project to build more capacity for breeding stock ended up in the building of a display Aviary in front of the breeding collection, to enhance the garden. 10 Breeding by parents 12 Crimson Rosella breeding Information Commonly found in gardens and mountain forests,they soon migrated to the surrounding regions.With such beautiful crimson plumage,they became a favourite companionbirds across the world. 15 Q&A on Dr Henriëtte van der Zwan Avizandum is excited to announce the launch of a new column on genetics. Most bird breeders struggle with this topic. We asked dr. Henriëtte van der Zwan, a researcher in avian » p.16 genetics to shed some light on it. 16 Shabby Fufu lifestyle Farm, Plettenberg Bay Irene Passion being waterfowl, there are Black-necked Swans, Black Swans as well as 10 different species of duck and geese. These are bred in all earnest. 18 How To Buy Breeding Stock For the beginner, trying to make the right decisions concerning the purchase of breeding stock is like jumping into the great unknown. 22 Yellow-crested Cockatoos protected by dragons » p.22 2 EDITORIAL Volume 33 warm welcome to our latest Edition we get to know Dr. Henriette better with a of birds, on Komodo Island the Dragons of The Avizandum, South Africa`s Q & A Session. As of the next edition,Number she safeguard the Cockatoo, by their 05 fierce Leading Birdkeeping Magazine. will be explaining the work she has done reputation. An interesting symbiosis. A March is the season when breeding in genetics research over the past few Our now famous Bird Shop, is still the comes to an end in South Africa and is the years. What is more exciting is that she will focus of any reader, whether it is to start of the Auction Season. As with 2020, be doing it in our language, normal day- become accustomed with the current this year remains very fluid in terms of to-day terms that we can all understand. pricing. Use it as a library of who kept what is being planned. COVID has wreaked Going to be a remarkably interesting and sold certain birds over period of time, havoc on our country, our lives, and our Column. Keep an eye on this one. or just find a reputable breeder once hobbies. Clubs have taken different views Our regular Loro Parque Foundation purchased birds from. The Bird shop on “To auction or not to Auction”, there article is all about the Red-Tailed Amazon. remain the big hit of the magazine. have been some auctions planned, whilst Rafael Zamora, Scientific Director at Loro Please enjoy the magazine and feel others have opted for online /What’s App Parque has also been kind enough to free to comment and subscribe. auctions. But these may change as the write an interesting article, Loro Parque Happy Reading .and breeding . Government restrictions are altered, so breeds over 1000 babies annually. please keep an eye on our website for any Our Featured article is the Crimson Team Avizandum. news and dates of auctions taking place. Rosella, what makes for interesting reading This issue is also the first to be used by The is the fact they breed with the onset of Parrot Breeders Associations of Southern the rains and not necessary just on the Africa (PASA) as their written platform fall of spring. Thus, if the rainy season for communicating with their members. is early, the birds will go to nest early. Whilst we are proud to be selected to If you new in the Hobby, the article on carry out this role, it also means that the purchasing breeding stock is the one for “Focus/Fokus” no longer exists. Electronic you in this edition. Not to say that breeders media has taken its toll here as well. are bad people, but the late Howard Great News, starting with this edition is the Voren, gives good advice on acquiring introduction of a Column by Dr. Henriette new birds for your breeding program. van der Zwan on Genetics, in this edition, Dragons were said to be predecessors Advertisers Index COMPANY NAME PAGE EMAIL ADDRESS CONTACT NUMBER WEBSITE PASA/PVSA 7 [email protected] 0824181555 www.aviculturesa.co.za Medpet 9 [email protected] 0116148515 www.medpet.co.za Mahindra 9 [email protected] 0315611415 www.mahindratractors.co.za Loro Parque 11 [email protected] +34922373841 www.loroparque-foundacion.org Nutripet 17 [email protected] 0413640655 www.nutripetec.co.za Andre Van Zyl 19 [email protected] 0823297735 Parrots SA 21,24 [email protected] 0828768155 www.birdtrader.co.za CFAO Toyota 25 [email protected] 0319495000 www.toyota.com AviProducts 25 [email protected] 0317660016 www.aviproducts.co.za SA Lovepets 31 [email protected] 0749971180 MDS Africa 24 [email protected] 031 267 70000 www.mdsafrica.net L&T Rings www.avizandum.co.za Avizandum Birdkeeping Magazine May 2021 3 LORO PARQUE FOUNDATION RED-TAILED AMAZONS, BEES AND DRONES David Waugh, Correspondent, Loro Parque Fundación nfortunately, the occupation of artificial nests by Africanized honeybees has increased in the past year, despite efforts to keep them in check. One initiative, which has been in progress for Useveral years, is to train and support people from local communities in the Red-tailed Amazon breeding zone to keep native species of bees. The objectives include to help the native bees sustain healthy populations, and to provide local people with an additional source of income from the sale of honey, which in turn gives them an incentive to help protect the forest. The native bee species most favoured for honey production is the Yellow jataí (Tetragonisca Two well-feathered angustula). chicks at the entrance to a natural nest. During the 2019/2020 breeding season in Paraná, the lowest number of hatchings of Red-tailed Amazons in the last ten years was recorded. A total of 105 cavities What kind of mattress suits you best for a good night’s suitable for forming nests were monitored, of which 74 sleep? Is it the spring kind, or foam, or maybe air or eventually had breeding activity. A total of 155 eggs were water, or even one that has hexagonal cells called a laid, from which 69 (44.5%) chicks hatched. Of those, only honeycomb base. If it is the latter, you are sharing this 15 (21.8%) successfully fledged. On the south coast of honeycomb experience with the Red-tailed Amazon São Paulo State, 23 suitable nest cavities were monitored, (Amazona brasiliensis) except that, in the case of the with only five of them showing breeding activity. In those, parrot, it is real honeycomb. This has been observed in a nine eggs were laid, seven chicks hatched and five of long-running project of the Brazilian NGO, the Society for them successfully fledged. The poor results are surprising, Wildlife Research and Environmental Education (SPVS), the numbers being 34% lower than those recorded for the for the conservation of this species throughout its coastal previous breeding season, and similar to the results prior distribution in south-east Brazil, especially in the State of to the installation of artificial nests from 2003. Paraná. The Loro Parque Fundación finances this project, The SPVS researchers postulate that natural predators, and since 1995 has supported activities for the study and protection of this species. The Red-tailed Amazons nest in forest of the low-lying islands and neighbouring coastal plains, where they Flying a drone face diverse challenges to reproduce successfully. One (indicated with of those challenges is that suitable nest cavities, both red arrow) over natural and artificial, can become colonised by introduced forest to monitor aggressive Africanized honeybees (Apis mellifera). While Red-tailed the bees are in residence the parrots are excluded, but Amazon nests. after the bees vacate a nest, the parrots return to use the cavity again in the following breeding season. Pieces of broken honeycomb piled-up on the cavity floor, although not the usual substrate, do not deter the breeding amazons. Indeed, one can imagine that the body heat from the chicks (and brooding female) gradually softens the honeycomb in a way somewhat akin to a natural memory foam! 4 LORO PARQUE FOUNDATION Red-tailed Amazon chicks hatched on old honeycomb. A brood of four chicks in a wooden nest-box in the forest. human interference and climate change could all have during the season using all the expected safe climbing influenced the reproductive output. Predation was higher, paraphernalia. After so many years, the field team is and climate changes took temperatures to extremes, hardened to it, and knows it must continue. However, increasing the possibility of diseases and decreasing the project is now testing a new method of nest the food supply. Even with the research team in place monitoring using technology: it is using drones to to monitor the breeding areas, cases of theft of parrot search for new breeding sites and to verify occupied chicks for illegal sale are still recorded, especially on the tree cavities.