Review for A Guide to Eclectus Parrots as Pet and Aviary Birds

This revised edition of ABK Publications’ A Guide to Eclectus Parrots as Pet and Aviary Birds, contains much new information, making its purchase extremely worthwhile even for those who already own the earlier edition. It is pleasing to see that ABK Publications is now offering this title in both soft and hardcover, allowing the purchaser a choice of formats. Collectors of avicultural literature will undoubtedly want to have a hardcover copy, while a softcover copy can be kept in the birdroom for quick reference.

The information in this book is presented in several sections, and caters for both aviculturists and pet bird owners.

The introduction provides general information about the Eclectus. This is followed by a very useful and interesting section on Eclectus in the Wild. However, I would advise against blindly accepting the authors’ statement that the behaviour of the Australian Eclectus can be extrapolated to other subspecies. Until research on all these subspecies has been conducted, this statement should be regarded as their opinion. Otherwise, I found this section to be very thought provoking and intriguing.

The very useful section on subspecies and their identification will hopefully clarify some of the confusion experienced by both aviculturists and regulating authorities when determining the status of these birds in captivity, and prevent further hybridising of subspecies.

The book then discusses the Eclectus in Captivity. The New Bird Checklist is an excellent guide for prospective owners to enable them to purchase a healthy Eclectus. An omission here is, perhaps, a recommendation that inexperienced bird owners (and even more experienced aviculturists) should have new birds examined by an avian veterinarian as part of the quarantine process. Many diseases, such as parasites, Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) and Chlamydophilosis, may require laboratory testing to detect. A physical examination alone (by anyone) cannot accurately determine a bird’s true health status. This recommendation is made in the next section, on pet birds, but overlooked in the section on aviary birds.

The section on Eclectus as Pets covers a multitude of subjects from choosing a bird, purchasing and setting up a cage, taking your new bird home, care of your bird and behaviour and training. This is a huge topic, and the authors have done extremely well in covering the field in the space allowed. New bird owners need to read this section, but be aware that this is, really, just the tip of the iceberg.

A detailed section on keeping Eclectus in the Aviary then follows. This section covers aviary design, nutrition, breeding, artificial incubation, handrearing and troubleshooting reproductive problems. All aviculturists, regardless of their level of experience, will find this section useful. It is nice to see the inclusion of growth charts for the Red-sided Eclectus, and I would hope to see further editions cover other subspecies as information becomes available. I would urge, however, that future authors include in their charts an explanation of the number of chicks that were used to develop the figures, and what their diets were. Large numbers of chicks are needed to gain statistically significant numbers that allow us to predict growth rates accurately, and we all know that different diets can markedly affect growth rates.

Diet is described in some detail, with some very pleasing recommendations on the type and variety of foods that should be offered. The use of registered product names (eg Soluvet™, Turboboost™) without explaining their content can limit this information to an Australian audience, and needs to be addressed in further editions if an international audience is to be truly catered for. I disagree with the statement that pelleted foods should not be fed to Eclectus because of their habit of dunking them in water; all parrots (or nearly all) dunk their food in water. I have seen many more Eclectus (both here and overseas) respond favourably to pellets than I have seen suffer adverse effects from dunking them. I would also caution against over-supplementing diets with vitamins and minerals, as problems (eg toe tapping) have been seen in Eclectus that have been linked to over-supplementation.

A thorough section on Diseases and Disorders of Eclectus concludes this book. On the whole this area is covered well, as would be expected from Dr Marshall. A word of caution however¾a recent survey of avian veterinarians attending a conference in Canberra in the ACT failed to reveal anyone who had heard of the term ‘Moulding Disease’ before. Care should be taken in using such nomenclature that is not recognised in the field. And while Dr Marshall is certainly entitled to his belief that toe tapping is associated with mouldy food and mycotoxins, readers need to be aware that this is just one proposed cause and that the true cause or causes have yet to be finally determined.

A useful bibliography can be found at the back of the book, providing a start point for readers wishing to do further research on this parrot. This is commendable, and other authors should follow their example.

Overall, I am more than happy to recommend this book to both novice and experienced bird keepers, whether they be aviculturists or pet bird owners. The authors have worked hard to cover a range of topics—my feeling is that, left unchecked, this book would have been two to three times larger! As a suggestion—aviculturists breeding and selling these magnificent parrots should include a copy of this book in the purchase price when selling a bird to anyone other than an experienced aviculturist.

Dr Bob Doneley BVSc FACVSc (Avian Health)