News
Continuing Education
Dr. Don Brightsmith and Dr. Jill Heatley would like to invite
you to participate in the Continuing Education course
"Parrots of the Amazon Rainforest", an interactive
expedition combining parrot observation in the wild with university
- level training. For more infomation click on the link to our brochure or visit the Continuing Education registration
website.
September 02, 2011
Dr. J. Jill Heatley recently undertook the journey to southern
Russia to provide assistance to the Great Bustard Reintroduction
Project. The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) is one of the
largest flighted birds in the world with a range that once extended
from England to Asia. However this bird is now extirpated or
endanger of extinction throughout most of its range. T... (Read More)
August 22, 2011
Scientists at the Schubot Exotic Bird Research Center have
identified the presence of Avian Bornavirus in a Bald Eagle. The
unfortunate eagle was found, unable to fly, by an east Texas
roadside. It died within a few hours of admission to a
rehabilitation center. Testing of its nervous tissues revealed that
its brain contained avian bornavirus. Avian bornavirus ha... (Read More)
May 16, 2011
Most commercial psittacine diets were originally based on
poultry diets and modified based on trial and error and research on
budgies and cockatiels. However, by studying the diets of macaw and
Amazon chicks from Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Bahamas, Juan
Cornejo and Donald Brightsmith are providing new information on
what baby parrots are fed in the wild. By... (Read More)
May 16, 2011
Can "fog" really make things clearer? The researchers at the
Schubot Center sure hope "she" can. In 2010 the Scarlet Macaw
"Neblina" (fog in Spanish) from the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines
Iowa donated some blood and feathers to become the first ever
parrot to have its entire genome sequenced. By sequencing Neblina's
DNA and comparing it to that of chickens, human... (Read More)
May 16, 2011
Until just a few years ago, PDD was a mystery killer of many
parrots in captivity. Now, thanks to the efforts of many
researchers around the world we know that this horrible disease is
caused by avian bornavirus. However, the work has just begun to try
and understand how this is transmitted, how it sickens and kills,
and how it can be cured or prevented. We have ... (Read More)
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