Some of my 'flock'

[Mekaisto]

I use the term flock loosely, as none of these birds actually belong to me, unfortunately.

However, in my years working with birds I've cared for a few beauties, and have been asked to divulge some choice photos

Sunday the hyacinth macaw ready to go for a fly.

Some cheeky macaws all lined up on their posts.

Diego the sun conure all snuggled up in his favourite spot.

Ms. Kea has a good look at the camera.

Mr. Cockatoo finds a good place to sit.

And of course, there's always time to show off his tail.

A breeding pair of blue-headed macaws stay close together

The 'three amigos'

And of course, the 'beautiful on the inside' Pesquet's parrot.

I'll see if I can find any more photos on my other computer.

 

[Kiwibird]

WOW! Thanks so much for sharing these photos! You have worked with some fantastic parrots. Mr. Cockatoo on your shoulder is my favorite

The Pesquets parrot is very....unusual looking:20:. Something between a buzzard and a TAG. Is he/she very friendly? Do you find Ms. Kea to be as smart/mischevious as they are rumored to be? I've heard they will strip cars of anything they can possibly rip off (literally, and for the fun of it!). I'm actually surprised that you work with all these amazing birds and have never had one yourself as a pet:11:

 

[weco]

KB, the Pesquet's have been nick named a "the Devil's Parrot" and "Vulturine Parrot," but the vulturine is a separate species of its own.....Pesquet's are native to New Guinea & Vulterines are native to South America.....

If memory serves, the Vulterine doesn't have feathers on its head.....

 

[Mekaisto]

WOW! Thanks so much for sharing these photos! You have worked with some fantastic parrots. Mr. Cockatoo on your shoulder is my favorite

The Pesquets parrot is very....unusual looking:20:. Something between a buzzard and a TAG. Is he/she very friendly? Do you find Ms. Kea to be as smart/mischevious as they are rumored to be? I've heard they will strip cars of anything they can possibly rip off (literally, and for the fun of it!). I'm actually surprised that you work with all these amazing birds and have never had one yourself as a pet:11:

I worked with two Pesquet's, one was a darling, and the other was a devil XD
The one in the photo was friendy, especially when I was bringing her food!

Keas are definitely the 'baboons' of the parrot world, they're intelligent and unafraid of humans - a dangerous combination
This girl in particular liked to follow people as they walked past her aviary, as well as try to undo screws with her beak!

I'm just not the right home for a parrot yet. I travel too much, and don't have the funds to pay for vet bills if/when they occur. Hopefully someday soon I'll have one of my own though

The problem with vulturine parrots, is that the same name is used to refer to Pyrilia vulturina/Pionopsitta vulturina (depending on who you ask), the Bald parrot, which was thought to be a juvenile vulturine, and the Pesquet's parrot, so it's all a bit of a confusing mess now
Technically the vulturine parrot is a green parrot with orange skin, which lives in South America, and the Pesquet's parrot is the grey and red bird pictured above, which lives in New guinea.

It really doesn't help that Wikipedia has a picture of a Pesquet's parrot for the 'vulturine parrot' page.

 

[RavensGryf]

Thanks so much for sharing this!

I LOVE seeing those Blue Headed Macaws!! Wow The Pesquet's needs lotion... :52:
I've seen pics of those Vulturine parrots with the blue/green body and orange head... Beautiful! Have you seen those in person? Do they have them in captivity at all?

Out of the 300+ species of parrots, I really wonder what percentage of them are even in captivity, then what percentage are available as pets including rare pets...

The zoos in my area don't really have much variety in the way of parrots for some reason... Maybe B&G Scarlet, and Hyacinth Macaws. Maybe the American zoos don't typically have the type of collection you see in Australia?

 

[Mekaisto]

I haven't seen Vulturine's before, and I'm not sure if they're found in zoos to be honest. You'd be amazed at how many species are still rare in zoos, or not found in captivity at all

I'd say American zoos have way more than Australian zoos - Australian zoos have a lot of native parrots, but exotic birds aren't actually able to be imported into Australia anymore.
Meaning that some species that would be considered common in America, such as senegal parrots, red-bellied parrots, parrotlets and lineolated parrots, are extremely rare in Australia.

 

[Jayyj]

Wonderful photos! I think the Pesquet's is beautiful in its own way, very unusual but there's something charming about it. I just saw a blue headed macaw for the first time last week at San Francisco zoo, never heard of them before but they were really sweet looking birds. They had a pair of vasa parrots in a walk in aviar, another unusual species I'd never seen in the flesh before.

 

[MrsKay]

Thank you SO MUCH. Those pics and information are appreciated very much

 

[Mekaisto]

Vasa parrots are THE WEIRDEST. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing them one day

Would anyone have a problem if I put up some non-parrot photos? I know this is the parrot forums, but I think I have some more photos you all might enjoy

 

[JerseyWendy]

WOW....just WOW!!!! Thank you SO much for sharing these gorgeous birds with us.

Yes, please feel free to share any and all photos with us, including non-bird related ones.

 

[TessieB]

What a unique collection of birds. TFS!

 

[Anansi]

Loving all of those photos! What a stunning variety of birds! And this thread has been quite informative, too. Thank you for sharing, and please keep those pics coming!

 

[witchbaby]

Wow, thank you for sharing! They're all gorgeous! I especially loved seeing photos of the hyacinth, black 'too and golden conures. All very stunning birds.

 

[Allee]

Thank you so much for sharing your photos and your knowledge. It must be amazing to work with all those incredible creatures. Please keep sharing.

What kind of bird do you have in mind to share your home with?

 

[Terry57]

Your pictures are gorgeous! What a fantastic job to be able to see all these beauties every day. I am also looking forward to seeing more pics of both feathered and non feathered

 

[Jayyj]

This was one of the vasa parrots at San Francisco - the picture quality is nowhere near as good as yours though! They weren't very keen on staying still either...

Looking forward to seeing what else you have to show us - must be an amazing job!

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[GW.Joe]

WOW, GREAT pics, I love the one with the row of Hyacinths !!
(can't imagine their cost in Australia)

The Pesquet's parrot is so different, kinda looks like it has a Vulture's beak LOL

Thanks for Sharin!!

 

[Mekaisto]

That row of Hy's would definitely be expensive in Australia, where $80,000 is the normal going rate for one! But that photo was taken in Qatar, where I imagine Hy' prices are considerably lower, hehe

I'd love a female Red-tailed black cockatoo someday, they're such gorgeous, sweet birds.

Here are some photos I found on my other computer, some of these are quite old now!

Gorgeous little female RTB, the best parrot in the world.

A greater bird of paradise shows off his plumage.

Even falcons love a good bath

Our Peregrine falcon chick, hatched last year.

A curious boobook owl chick

Two little barking owls

Hahn's macaw chicks

A big B&G macaw chick

A little mousebird that liked to sit on me and nibble my clothes

(Goodness, I really do have too many photos! Others are welcome to share photos of unusual/cool birds they have, I feel a bit silly just showing my own photos)

 

[RavensGryf]

But I don't think we could come close to your zoo collection LOL! Wow Bird of Paradise!

I have some nice photos of some less commonly seen parrots that I used to have as pets... Either died or rehomed now, but they're older pics not on my iPad or phone, so will have to get them on here when I can pull pics off the computer which is not on the internet, find my flashdrive, then get on the other computer to upload...

 

[Allee]

Your photos are amazing, please keep them coming. The RTB is just beautiful, WOW! And baby pics and owls and falcons and a bird of paradise. Just Wow!!!

Julie, you know you must produce those photos now, don't you? And then we'll want to hear their stories.