For 47 birds (among them ten conures, 31 cockatiels and 6 ring-neck doves), the new year is looking a lot brighter. All of them became residents of Primarily Primates on December 24, 2008—coming to live in PPI’s state-of-the-art aviaries.
The birds all arrived from a California-based bird sanctuary that’s been hit hard by the economic crisis, forcing the closing of its aviary doors—leaving approximately 100 birds homeless.
Conures resemble small parrots, with magnificently colored feathers in hues of bright green and deep red; another variety resembles a falling sunset, according to Stephen Tello, Executive Director of Primarily Primates—with brilliant reds, bright oranges and yellows, accented by green wings. The cockatiels are playful and talkative birds who are shades of gold, tan and yellow, punctuated by a tuft of feathers fanning above their heads. Ring-neck doves resemble morning doves, with their delicate, nuanced shades of brown and grey.
Tello proclaims, “this is an exciting adventure. The aviaries have all been renovated with the help of Friends of Animals; the settings are very large and natural, with lots of open space and room to fly freely. It will be wonderful to see these birds enjoy a naturalistic habitat and enjoy members of their own species.”
The newly renovated aviaries range in size from 12’x10’x 40’ for the smaller birds to 60’x 20’x 100’ for the larger ones—featuring branches and trees for perching and spacious indoor “bedrooms.” The enclosures offer exposure to warm sunlight and protection from the elements.
Some of the birds suffer from self-mutilation behaviors, which can result from birds being kept as pets in cages; that’s likely why many of these birds ended up in a sanctuary in the first place. A few of them have physical disabilities, such as missing limbs, which will require special attention and care. The staff at PPI is hopeful that good care and a spacious living environment might help eliminate behaviors that were induced by stress.
Tello adds that, “it’s wonderful to hear the glorious songs of these beautiful birds first thing in the morning; you can hear their beautiful songs all over PPI.”