BIRD IMPORTATION MAY BE BACK

flamingoes would be great, so too would be hornbills and toucans etc. but at the end of the day, biosecurty risks aside, we already have a good, (though non-representative collection of exotic birds, mainly finches, parrots and pheasants) range of bird species here that i think could become major exhibits if only they were displayed with a little more imagination.
i mean, an amazon aviary with currasows, finches and dozen species of exotic softbills like tanagers would be amazing, but a lush walkthrough aviary with macaws and tamarins would have just as much of a wow factor. as yet, only adelaide has this type of display.
so do we import birds at great cost and compromise potentially our biosecurity (i know it may be a small risk but even the last macaw import introduced two new egg diseases) or simply..........................................just build better displays for the species we already have???
and again, australia has such a wonderful and diverse range of native birds, that ironically people travel from all over the globe to see. lets build premier facilities to display them first. then a flamingo lagoon would be lovely
;)
 
You'll find that most of the exotic bird species here are seedeaters or pollen eaters \. Very few if any soft bills. Which is a shame but more could definately be made of aussie natives. At currumbin they have a couple of excellent walkin aviaries. My favourite is an open bushland which you can sit in and watch the fiches and wrens. As they are very active species they are a joy to watch.
 
exotic birds

i love currumbin sanctuary's rainforest aviary, in fact walk-throughs are all great, such as melbourne's great flight and taronga's wollemi.
but of course, both these exhibits specialise in natives. turning to taronga's wild asia exhibit, you can see how well the birdlife of a continent can be displayed. most of the birds on display are totally exotic and in thecase of most of the lories and pigeon species, well managed breeding programs between zoos and private breeders should see these species persist. australsian birds like spoonbills and reed warblers are great for beefing up the display. when you consider the range of birds already available then africa's birdlife could be well-represented, and so too could south america. it wouldnt be a balanced dispay, favouring macaws and parrots, but it would do.
i guess im just reinterating my earlier point, that wit the range of exotic species already available theres no reason why our zoos cant have amazing bird displays.
of course, i do feel sorry for the lonely victoria crowned pigeons at taronga
 
flamingoes

A few years ago Auckland zoo successfully imported a whole group of flamingoes ( I think from the UK )
There was about 20 of them .
They are hoping that they ( the birds ) will be successful breeders

How often do they breed ?

Perhaps in a few years Auckland Zoo can send some of the flamingoes to an Australian zoo ?


I have now found the following from the Auckland Zoo website ;

Auckland Zoo has a flock of 17 greater flamingos. Apart from a couple of aged individuals in Australia, this is the only flock of flamingos in Australasia, which were imported from Slimbridge Zoo in England in 2001.

Because of New Zealand’s biosecurity laws, the process of importing these flamingos was a long and complicated one. Auckland Zoo’s Exotic Bird team leader Michael Batty spent several months at Slimbridge Zoo in England, where he saw these chicks through their incubation and hatching, and hand-reared them at this facility for the first two months of their lives. When the chicks were between the ages of 6 and 10 weeks, they were flown to Auckland and quarantined at the Zoo for some weeks before settling into their present enclosure.
 
what we can do....

shortly after they arrived someone threw a rock at one a killed it!!

i'm not sure about NZ but in australia we have a very large and comprehensive range of exotic parrots from africa, asia, wallacia and south america. we generally have a range of parrot species to suit any habitat display from these regions wether it be savannah or rainforest.

we have a limited but acceptable range of pigeons/doves from asia and new guniea/wallacia, a few savannah species from africa and a single grassland species from south america (the talpacoti dove)

exotic finches are well represented, though most species are african savannah species or asian species. there are a few rare and expensive african rainforest/forest edge species and plenty of attractive species from the jungles of southeast asia. in addition there are a limited (and i believe maybe very rare and hard to get) range of south/central american finch species, mostly all from open swamp habitats. some such a the very attractive and large red-crested cardinal, are very imbred, hard to get and pretty much dying out...

asia definately fares much better than any other region when it comes to other groups of birds. we have a great range of pheasants, waterfowl and even a couple of attractive softbill species (mesia's, pekin robins and bul-buls) to fill our avairies. in addition to this we can, as glyn mentioned always "bulk out" these displays with australian natives with distributions that extend to asia. there are a plethora of "australian" birds that can be found in southern asia. some birds such as cattle egrets, glossy ibis and black winged stilts have an almost world-wide distribution!

so taking into account the rarity and viability of some exotics in australian aviculture, we can nontheless, create only reasonably diverse displays for new guniea and southeast asian rainforests, india's grasslands, the himalayas and the african savannah. we can however create an avicultral exhibit for just about any region we want represent, though they may consist of little more than a parrot or two, maybe a finch, if your lucky a dove and an australian waterbird!

the adelaide zoo in an email a few years back, told me that the zoos had placed an application for a range of rarer exotic species that have died out in the region or were in the process thereof. it included favorites such as the condors, crowned pigeons, monals and flamingoes and a few exciting species no longer here, such as white-cheeked turacos (a gorgeous rainforest bird from east africa) and crowned cranes.

if the import went ahead it would have given almost every planned habitat-type a "hero" bird species that would have done wonders for the diversity and interest of the exhibit.

now if only there was a toucan and hornbill species on that list... :)
 
Yes I agree Pat, yep bring in the Hornbills and Toucans, I think there is one species of Hornbill which lives as far south as NG.
 
thats right mark, blyths hornbill. its distribution centers around new guinea, extending on either side to the moluccas and the solomons. its a wonder (and disappointment) why it never made it to cape york.

actually it would posibly be my first choice for a species that was to hypothetically be brought in, since it has a high degree of sexual dimorphisim its like getting two birds in one! (though with such a gorgeous range of asiatic hornbills i might have to sleep on it - those sulawesi ones are pretty damn gorgeous!)...
 
Pat I could not agree more, Hornbills are great birds, I have seen some real beauts in some zoos, the Giant Asain Hornbills are HUGE, I guess you may have seen them in Asia in your travels. The Rhino hornbill is another top looking bird. I hope some day our zoos could be allowed to import some. Fingers crossd.
 
unfortunately i haven't seen any wild hornbills in asia, though i have seen a few in zoos. i agree some are massive!

i have however seen lots of wild toco toucans and many other spectacular captive species in brazil. they are remarkably freindly charismatic birds and i've met a toco at a bird park who would let you scratch him and would follow you around. both hornbills and toucans are not only great species for display, but for their potential inclusion in bird shows as well.
 
Well patrick, since you posted that above, you sure have seen some wild hornbills!

Unfortunately, Australia's well-meaning but draconian bird import restrictions have apparently led to a thriving smuggling trade. The restrictions are designed to keep out disease, but what about the birds which migrate between Aust. and New Guinea/Asia each year? Aren't they a disease source?
 
probably, hence why i have never been too stressed about bird flu. if the *&@# really does hit the fan, we'll get it (if we don't have already). no doubt about it.

yeah, i'm all "wild hornbill'd up" these days and after being to jurong there are a few additional birds i'm hanging for import.
 
And maybe a few Giant Indian hornbills, wonderful birds, I guess you would of seen them in the Singapore zoo
 
Apart from the horrible expense of bird importation into Australia, I imagine that the "red tape" involved would try the patience of a saint.

In fact, I read an article in an avicultural magazine written by a member of a syndicate which imported macaws in the early 90's. The title of the article was "How To Age 30 Years In 18 Months".
His syndicate wanted to bring in a range of parrot species, but was only allowed to import species that were already here, such as Blue & Gold Macaws. At least it allowed some fresh genetic material and "kick-started" some species which were just about gone.
 
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