Exotic Birds in Australia
- Thread starter zooboy28
- Start date
I'm sure there used to be a long time ago. I know the Fijian parrots were once present in Australia, and kagu were as well at one time.
Thylacineotway
Member
I'm surprised that there is not many non native birds of prey species in Australian Zoos.
I would love to see a snowy owl, bald eagle and a griffin vulture.
I would love to see a snowy owl, bald eagle and a griffin vulture.
I've just added a small bit to the opening of the thread, about bird importation. I will note here that although the import ban was commenced in 1949 it seems that Edward Hallstrom of Taronga Zoo continued bringing birds into the country from New Guinea through the 1950s via not-exactly-legal means.
A note on importation of exotic birds to Australia:
In 1949 a ban was introduced on importation of all birds and avian material (e.g. feathers) from all countries except New Zealand. The ban was extended to include New Zealand in 1971. The main aim of the ban was to try and prevent the introduction to Australia of exotic avian diseases. This is the primary reason for there being so few exotic “zoo” birds left in Australia (e.g. curassows, crowned pigeons, condors, flamingoes) because all have to have been sustained in the country by the zoos for the last sixty-odd years. In 1989, largely due to high levels of smuggling by private aviculturists, legislation was brought in to allow legal importation of birds once more, with the first import taking place in 1990. Reviews of the procedures however showed there to be a high risk of disease introduction (mostly due to an incomplete knowledge of bird diseases and an inability then of testing properly for most of them); hence all importation was suspended indefinitely in 1995 and has never resumed. Unfortunately it seems zoos did not take advantage of this short window, instead the imports all being for private aviculturist and farming interests.
Currently the only birds allowed to be imported into Australia are live domestic pigeons; the eggs of domestic chickens, domestic turkeys and domestic ducks; and live king and gentoo penguins from New Zealand (as of 2008, due to them coming from a contained facility in New Zealand to contained facilities in Australia).
A note on importation of exotic birds to Australia:
In 1949 a ban was introduced on importation of all birds and avian material (e.g. feathers) from all countries except New Zealand. The ban was extended to include New Zealand in 1971. The main aim of the ban was to try and prevent the introduction to Australia of exotic avian diseases. This is the primary reason for there being so few exotic “zoo” birds left in Australia (e.g. curassows, crowned pigeons, condors, flamingoes) because all have to have been sustained in the country by the zoos for the last sixty-odd years. In 1989, largely due to high levels of smuggling by private aviculturists, legislation was brought in to allow legal importation of birds once more, with the first import taking place in 1990. Reviews of the procedures however showed there to be a high risk of disease introduction (mostly due to an incomplete knowledge of bird diseases and an inability then of testing properly for most of them); hence all importation was suspended indefinitely in 1995 and has never resumed. Unfortunately it seems zoos did not take advantage of this short window, instead the imports all being for private aviculturist and farming interests.
Currently the only birds allowed to be imported into Australia are live domestic pigeons; the eggs of domestic chickens, domestic turkeys and domestic ducks; and live king and gentoo penguins from New Zealand (as of 2008, due to them coming from a contained facility in New Zealand to contained facilities in Australia).
zooboy28
Well-Known Member
As PNG was administrated by Australia at this time, was there a loop-hole they could import birds via?
that is entirely possible. I haven't been able to find out much about what he brought in and when, and how he did it.
The original import was to Adelaide Zoo in 1923! A long run indeed.
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In his invaluable book entitled "Royal Zoological Society of South Australia 1878-1978" C.E. Rix, former Chairman of the Land Board, South Australia wrote that Adelaide Zoo had exhibited 4 species of Curassows. Quote: "These are the Razor Billed Curassow (from 1923), Crested Curassow ( 1917), Wattled Curassow (1950) and Sclater's Curassow (1937). The first mentioned of these, the Razor Billed, has been the only member of the family to breed successfully in the Gardens. At least 15 chicks have been reared over the past 10 years or so." (Written in 1978.)
zooboy28
Well-Known Member
It does say 1923 in that book.
I'll go with 1923 then.
EDIT: actually 1932 was my typo!! I had edited the bird list several days ago and it said 1923 but when I made the reply post the other day (at the bottom of page 2) I put 1932 and then thought that was what it was meant to be!!
There used to be a small feral Mute Swan population near Perth, no? Should that be included in the first post?
they are still there, at a town called Northam, where there are about 80 birds. I'll add it on to the list as being found in the wild.
Quote "they are still there, at a town called Northam, where there are about 80 birds. I'll add it on to the list as being found in the wild. "
The Mute swans at Northam are very closely managed by the local council and a volunteer group, and could hardly be considered as wild. Several pairs are kept in fenced off pens in the park beside the Avon River, and a few live "free" on the river, although I would doubt there is many more than 20 at the most. They have declined in recent years due to inbreeding, human disturbance and old age. There are photos of some of them in the gallery Australian Wildlife.
The Mute swans at Northam are very closely managed by the local council and a volunteer group, and could hardly be considered as wild. Several pairs are kept in fenced off pens in the park beside the Avon River, and a few live "free" on the river, although I would doubt there is many more than 20 at the most. They have declined in recent years due to inbreeding, human disturbance and old age. There are photos of some of them in the gallery Australian Wildlife.
the sites I was looking at all seemed to agree on a figure of eighty birds (but it may have been the standard internet "repeating" effect), and I couldn't really work out if they were actually wild or sort of free-range captives. But they do seem to be considered proper ticks by birders. (I'm sure that if I saw them though, I would have to look into it much more closely if I was going to count them as legitimate ticks).
zooboy28
Well-Known Member
I haven't looked into this deeply at all, but Mute Swans are not mentioned anywhere (obvious) in the Pizzey & Knight field guide (9th edition), but they are in the Morcombe guide (2nd edition), where they are described as being restricted to a few localised colonies, although it only specifically mentions Northam and there is no map.