Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!intercon!news
From: kdb@macaw.intercon.com (Kurt Baumann)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Indoor Antics
Message-ID: <269CBCB6.4E42@intercon.com>
Date: 12 Jul 90 18:08:53 GMT
References: <840@cfiprod.UUCP> <332@spam.ua.oz> <739@helens.Stanford.EDU>
Sender: usenet@intercon.com (USENET The Magnificent)
Reply-To: kdb@macaw.intercon.com (Kurt Baumann)
Organization: InterCon Systems Corporation, Herndon, VA
Lines: 31

In article <739@helens.Stanford.EDU>, bonnie@hanauma.stanford.edu (Bonnie
Rippere) writes:
> 1- Cockatiels and budgies are really the most popular of the Australian
> birds - easily bred and all that.  Cockatoos also are popular, but much
> less common.  Most of the parrots which people get here, though, are
> South American.  (Other people out there who know better, please feel
> free to correct me!)

In general the larger Cockatoo's are in lesser numbers because they are harder
to breed (only now are people learning what all it takes), and have not been
imported from Australia since the early 60's.  This is a shame since the
genetic pool from which breeders are producing is much smaller than it was
before, and getting smaller as older birds die.  It would be nice if from
time to time some small amount of the larger Austrailian birds were allowed
out of Austrailia.  Also it might be noted that the US does not allow any
export of native birds.

> 2- I believe the only wild populations of Australian birds (meaning parrots)
> that we have in the states are the flocks of wild parakeets which one
> may find in Florida.  These apparently grew from pet birds which were
> released or escaped, rather than immigrants from Australia!  I don't know
> too much about the less visually-ostentatious birds, but I can't recall
> hearing of Australian finches or sparrows, etc.  Again, others are
> welcome to correct me.

There are a few groups of Macaws in Florida as well as a colony of Quaker
Parrots in Chicago dispite the winters.
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