Ray Dorge - A Guide to Popular Conures as Pet and Aviary Birds

The authors, Ray Dorge and Gail Sibley.

Ray Dorge is an author, columnist and freelance writer. Rays column, Squawks n Chatter , which appears in Australian Birdkeeper magazine and the column, News and Views Stateside appearing in Parrots magazine keep him on his avicultural toes. His aviculture and wildlife conservation articles appear regularly in Australia, the UK, Germany and the USA. Born and raised in Canada, he obtained his Bachelors Degree (Anthropology focus) from Queens University in Kingston, Canada.

Gail Sibley is a pastel and watercolour artist, as well as a freelance photographer. Her artwork is found in private and public collections worldwide. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica she completed her A-levels in England. She then went on to obtain a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts (Honours) from the University of Manitoba, Canada and a Masters Degree in Art History from the renowned Queens University in Kingston, Canada. Gails photography accompanies Rays articles and appears in A Guide to Pet & Companion Birds , their first book together.

Take note! If you should choose to skip this section you will miss the introductions to those busy avicultural professionals who so unselfishly contributed their insider secrets and qualified opinions.

There is a tremendous need for information on conures as pets, explained Janet Casagrande, of Rain Coast Aviary, Vancouver Island, Canada. Janet and Brian Casagrande thus seeded the idea for this book.

We then approached our Publisher, Nigel Steele-Boyce, with the proposal for this book. He gave us his approval and provided a list of popular conures currently available in Australia. We thank him for always being receptive to our ideas, for his confidence in us, and it goes without saying, for his patience and understanding during the writing process.

The Casagrandes breed a wide range of conures including some very rare species for which they are applying for First Breeding Awards in Canada. They generously loaned us many of their reference books on conures. This collection was the springboard for our research.

We are honoured that a renowned and highly respected aviculturist and author, Rosemary Low, allowed us to quote her descriptions of each of the species. Thank you very much Rosemary.

Sandra (Sandi) Brennan of Fine Feathered Flock Aviary who is the current President of the International Conure Association located in New Mexico, USA, was enthusiastic about our book. Not only did she offer her breeding experiences but also introduced us to other conure devotees. Sandi is no stranger to the ways of the conure. Bird keeping began at age six with two finches but did not take full flight until much later, when she was just married. Sandi and Martin Brennan caught what they call the fever, while on honeymoon at Parrot Jungle in Florida, USA. They soon found themselves in the possession of over 200 birds ranging from finches to macaws. Since 1989, Martin has focussed on macaws, and Sandi on conures. The Brennans have over 30 conure species of which they have bred all but ten.

For an insight into a neighbourhood conure aviary, we visited Bob and Wendy Wilson who own Saxe Point Aviary in Victoria, Canada. Outdoor flights overlook their backyard gardens and indoor flights occupy the greater part of their walk-out basement. It comes as no surprise that pet parrots have colonised almost every room of their home. They have owned birds for 11 years. Currently, Saxe Point Aviary houses the Sun Conure Aratinga solstitialis , the Nanday Conure Nandayus nenday and the Maroon-bellied Conure Pyrrhura frontalis . Bob and Wendys aviary motto is Healthy, happy adult birds breed happy, healthy babies.

For a look at the business of conure breeding, we visited Judi Robben at Free Flyte Aviary in Kansas, USA. Judi, a registered nurse and paramedic, is also a certified avian specialist graduate and has qualified her aviary for MAP certification. I did both certifications as goals to improve my knowledge base and become more professional in my business. She has vast experience with a variety of conures as they are her greatest love, the Painted Conure Pyrrhura picta picta being her favourite. Judi is a Founding Member of the Pyrrhura Breeders Association.

She introduced us to another Founding Member, Don Harris, who is currently serving as President of the Pyrrhura Breeders Association, for his impressions on his Fiery-shouldered Conures Pyrrhura egregia .