Classification and status of wild populations of parrots (2025)

Parrot enrichment - animal welfare.pdf

Animal Welfare 1997, 6: 357-363 The purpose of this study was to enrich parrot enclosures by creating foraging opportunities appropriate for the species and to investigate the possible preference for a variable versus a constant food supply. The foraging device comprised of a length of wood (2xO.08xO.08m) with 50 holes (O.02m diameter x 0.02m depth) drilled into one face. Food was placed in the holes of the foraging device in one of two distributions: 'constant', one food item in every hole (total = 50 food items) or 'variable', 5food items in 10 of the holes (total = 50 food items). The holes were then covered with starch paper. During the enrichment period the parrots spent significantly more time allopreening than in the baseline or post-enrichment periods. The results also provide some evidence of contrafreeloading in parrots, but no preference for a variable over a constant food source. The study shows that providing extra foraging opportunities for parrots is a useful form of enrichment.

VETN 2017 8 8 Clinical Parrot StressAQson

Reactions of nomadic and resident parrot species

International Zoo Yearbook, 2000

Individual Responses of Captive Amazon Parrots to Routine Handling Can Reflect Their Temperament

Animals

Individual responses to physical restraint and temperament have been assessed in birds of several species; however, there is a paucity of research which investigates both aspects, especially in captive parrots. This lack of studies raises doubts about which temperament traits, if any, are evidenced during handling and if the intensity of responses to restraint is affected by behavioral training programs, a common practice used in ex situ conservation programs. To understand more about the subject, this study aimed to identify the main temperament dimensions of parrots and investigate their relationship with response to physical restraint for blood collection. A secondary aim was to evaluate whether parrots exhibited higher responsiveness to physical restraint after training to improve flight capacity and increase aversion to humans. The main dimensions identified were activity, neophilia, vigilance, and fearfulness. The more fearful parrots in temperament evaluations were more respo...

Introducing: The World Parrot Trust

Journal of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, 1989

Stress in captive Blue-fronted parrots (Amazona aestiva): the animalists' tale

Conservation Physiology, 2019

Understanding stress physiology is crucial for species management because high levels of stress can reduce reproduction and the individual's ability to face threats to survive. One of the most popular methods for non-invasive monitoring of animal endocrine status is the glucocorticoid (GC) metabolite measurements, which can provide important information about how animals are affected by their surrounding environment. Here, we carried out the biological validation of corticosterone enzyme immunoassays (EIAs), which together with a cortisol EIA was used to quantified the concentrations of urofaecal GC metabolites (uGCMs) in wild and captive Blue-fronted amazon parrots (Amazona aestiva). Urofaecal GC concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in free-living parrots (157.9 ± 18.5 ng cortisol/g and 61.14 ± 23.5 ng corticosterone/g dry urofaecal sample) than in those kept in captivity, which showed the comparable levels of GC metabolites independently of the management system applied. The higher uGCM levels obtained in the wild population point to an adaptive response for survival and species propagation in a more challenging environment, in comparison with captive animals. Furthermore, the lower uGCM concentrations in captive parrots may indicate an adaptive capacity of the species A. aestiva to captivity and its potential as a legal pet. The corticosterone EIA applied in this study proved to be an effective technique for the adrenocortical activity monitoring in this species. We discuss our findings considering the management and destiny given to wild-caught birds that are kept in confinement or returned to nature.

The effect of a novel enrichment device on the territories, social structure, and behaviour of African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) at the ground-level of an aviary

This study investigated the effect of a novel enrichment device (a metal tray containing bark chip mulch) on the behaviour, territories and social organization of a group of 47 African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) in a naturalistic aviary at a parrot sanctuary. The aims of the study were to: (1) Describe behaviours performed by the parrots at ground-level; (2) Ascertain whether they have ground-level territories; (3) Analyse the effect of the provision of an enrichment device on individual parrots and on the group as a whole; and (4) Assess whether enrichment provision results in disruption to social structure and parrot territories. Baseline observations of parrot locations and behaviours were used to create a map of territories. The enrichment device was then placed on the ground in different territories and behaviours and locations of parrots were recorded. It was found that: (1) Nearly half of the parrots housed in the aviary performed digging, locomotory, mulch-chewing, foraging and social behaviours at ground-level; (2) one individual, George, performed more inactive behaviour (sleeping, standing and autogrooming) during baseline than when enrichment was present, P=0.046, two-tailed test, and more active behaviour during the enrichment (77%) than the baseline (23%) phase, P= 0.049, two-tailed randomization test; (3) The enrichment device appeared to increase foraging behaviour of three individuals but not of the overall group; and (4) The social network and territories were generally stable over time, but enrichment device provision had a local effect on the size of two territories in a single aviary floor quadrant. Social dynamics and territoriality limit the welfare benefits of a single enrichment item, so providing identical enrichment items within each territory is recommended to prevent social distress and increase resource access.

Parrots of the World: An Identification Guide

Auk, 2007

Preferences of Orange-winged Amazon parrots ( Amazona amazonica) for cage enrichment devices

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2009

Since the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act in 1966 and several times since, legislation has been enacted in a continuing attempt to improve the quality of care for animals kept by humans for commercial, research, and other purposes. With an increased interest in the psychological health of animals and the potential of stress and suffering to compromise the integrity of scientific research using animals, additional considerations continue to be evaluated to better understand the impact of environmental enrichment on animal well-being. Supplementation of a captive animal's surroundings with environmental enrichment is aimed at promoting

Book Review: A Century of Parrots

AFA Watchbird, 2008

ew people have had as long an association with the American Federation of Aviculture as Rosemary Low. Her contributions to the AFA Watchbird commenced in 1980, with articles on Eclectus and the St. Lucia Amazon (Fletcher, 1989), and so far continue to 2007, with an account, in the first number of Volume 34, of a visit to the Colombian Andes to witness local efforts to preserve the Fuertes' Parrot, and other indigenous species. She has also been a favored speaker at AFA conventions over the decades, her reputation having long proceeded her because of the truly remarkable number of books she has written, going back, to my knowledge, to 1968, when her Aviary Birds was published in England, the American edition (Low, 1970