Birds: News and Views Fit To Squawk About!

Important articles, blogs, and action alerts from the AWC and thought-providing opinion on a variety of avian topics. For more up-to-the minute news, join AWC on Facebook.

“No Fly Zone” 
Denied Their Natural Habits, Millions of Pet Parrots Lead Bleak, Lonely Lives.
By Charles Bergman, ALL ANIMALS Magazine

Not Just a Pretty Boy: 
Intelligent, devoted, alien – parrots are unlike any other pet.  But what does the human-avian bond say about us?
By Ilan Greenberg, AEON Magazine

Avian Welfare Coalition:  Helping Shelters Take Wing on Proper Bird Care
In honor of this year’s National Bird Day celebration on Saturday, January 5, the Avian Welfare Coalition has produced a series of informative pamphlets designed especially to help shelters and care facilities tend to the needs of birds.

Cupid and Kenya: A Tale of Two Lovebirds
Because these species are so common in captivity and are small, I think people tend to forget that they are small parrots, that they exist in the wild and are the native species of other countries. Lovebirds are from Africa.

Pivotal Declaration in Debate Over Animal Consciousness
If you’ve ever rubbed a dog’s belly, met a parrot, or even sprinkled food on the water’s surface in a fish tank, you probably don’t need convincing that animals are conscious beings. Common sense demands recognition of these characteristics.

Symbol of Liberty: The Resplendent Quetzal
It is a historical icon of liberty. Quetzals were revered by the Maya and hey believed the quetzal would not survive in captivity as it would rather kill itself than be held prisoner.

Lorikeets: Too Appealing for Their Own Good?
Lorikeets are admired for their beautiful plumage and amusing antics, yet their food requirements and droppings make them particularly difficult to care for.... Of course, like all birds, they are wild animals and their natural behaviors and activities are constricted when they are kept captive.

Urban Pioneers:  Quaker Parakeets
One of the most abundant free-living parrot species in the United States is the gray-breasted parrot, Myiopsitta monachus, more commonly known as the monk or Quaker parakeet

Born Free USA’s National Bird Day to Focus on Birds in Captivity:
How to Adopt and Best Care for Captive Birds