Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!bu-cs!encore!kaufman From: kaufman@encore.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: hookbills, you asked for it, you know, posting to rec.birds... Message-ID: <3934@encore.UUCP> Date: 21 Oct 88 00:41:30 GMT References: <1103@leah.Albany.Edu> <1521@valhalla.ee.rochester.edu> Reply-To: kaufman@encore.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) Organization: Encore Computer Corp, Marlboro, MA Lines: 104 I would urge the readers of rec.birds to remain united, rather than breaking into separate groups for bird watching and bird keeping. Any real separation in readership comes from misunderstandings which can only be resolved by sharing our thoughts. So, to address the cusp of Lori's dilemma: You *can* have pet birds without adverse impact on wild bird populations. What you want is a bird that was hatched in this country. This is how to tell what kind of bird you are getting: * A circular cross-section ring around a leg, with numerals engraved, is the ring placed on the bird by US Customs at the quarentine station. (All imported birds are kept in quarentine for 30 days to assure that certain diseases are not brought into the country.) This means the bird was imported legally. I believe it is illegal to counterfeit these rings. Most chain one of these rings on the bird's leg. It is a crimp-type ring of what appears to be stainless steel. It is very hard to remove without a special tool or a file (and a cooperative bird). * Reputable breeders place a seamless metal ring on the leg of a native-born baby bird. This can only be done within a few days of hatching and is thus pretty good proof that the bird is "born in the USA." Look for this when you buy a bird. Larger bird breeding facilities will be able to positively identify the date of birth and possibly the lineage of a bird by a unique serial number on the band. Others use plain bands, particularly for the less-expensive birds. (Numbered, seamless bands are not cheap; they are produced in low volume and in sizes specifically designed to fit certain species.) * Other birds may have crimped metal or plastic bands on them. These bands are useful to breeders who need to track bloodlines and such in an aviary. (Gee, should I let that couple pair off, or are they too closely related?...) These bands are not convincing evidence that a bird was native-born. (I mean hatched, of course, but...) There is a type of plastic seamless band that can be stretched and placed on a bird's leg, where it shrinks back to original size. There is no reliable way to prove "citizenship" with a plastic band. However, these bands have legitimate uses if accompanied with other documentation as evidence of legitimacy (see following). * Bandless birds are suspect, but not necessarily illegal. In fact, probably only a minority of inexpensive bandless birds are illegal. (Because of the value of rare and endangered species, legit birds are almost always provided with as positive means of identification as possible.) Bands are often removed by an owner, particularly in a free-flight environment. The reason is that the bird can snag the legband and injure or kill itself. This is particularly true with the US Customs band, which often has a small gap (not a tightly closed ring). Occasionally, a breeder or US Customs makes a mistake, and installs a ring that is too small for the growing bird, and the ring has to be removed for the bird's health. This should be done by a veterinarian who should provide an affidavit affirming that band "number 5555555" was removed from a "crested blue-eyed featherduster" on such-and-such a date. The owner should keep the affidavit _and_ the remnants of the ring as evidence. If you want to buy a bird with these evidences, you should be reassured if the veterinary records match the affidavit. This will serve as legal proof, if any is needed. Same procedure for a seamless banded bird, native born. Frequently these birds are rebanded with a serial numbered band for convenient cross-reference and identification; the veterinarian's affidavit should cite the number on the replacement band if one is put on. * Don't buy a bird that was "hatched in our bird farms in Singapore" or the Philipines, or whatever. There may be honest operations that do that, but such businesses are notorious for being a laundering operation for smuggled birds. The best place to buy a bird is directly from the breeder. In some places (like "The Scarlet Macaw" in Houston) the birds are bred in the actual storefront. You can walk right in and watch newly hatched baby birds being hand fed! Aside from the better moral position of buying domestically hatched birds, the birds will simply make better pets if they are raised by hand, or at least exposed to much human interaction in their early days. There is a high risk of dissatisfied buyer and bird if you purchase an imported bird. It takes a lot more work to accomodate yourself to the developed quirks of the wild-hatched bird's personality (and hookbills particularly have strong individual personality) and visa-versa. The hand-raised bird is most expensive, but worth it, if you want a pet. (The large parrots, such as macaws and amazons, have a life expectancy of around 75 years. You are buying yourself a life-long companion. And they live on birdfeed! :-) ) Finding a "local" breeder can be tough. The easiest way is to get an issue of either Bird Talk or Cage Bird magazine and look in the ads. In general, avoid chain stores. If you go to look at, and handle, birds from more than one location when shopping around, scrub thoroughly before handling the next bird. Just ask the breeder for disinfectant soap. He/she will have some, and be grateful for your consideration. Next, the issue of organizations that work for bird conservation through domestic breeding and care of threatened/endangered species: I will cover that in a separate posting - coming right up. This posting is already long enough. -- Lar Kaufman <= my opinions kaufman@multimax.arpa {bu-cs,decvax,necntc,talcott}!encore!kaufman Fidonet: 1:322/470@508-534-1842