Birds For Dummies
by Gina Spadafori and Brian L. Speer, DVM
Foreword by Joe Carvalho
Birds For Dummies
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 99-65976
ISBN: 0-7645-5139-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6
1B/TR/QZ/QS/IN
About the Authors
Gina Spadafori is an award-winning author with two top-selling pet care books to her credit: Dogs For Dummies and Cats For Dummies (the latter co-authored with Paul D. Pion, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM). Her weekly Pet Connection column is offered through the Universal Press Syndicate and appears in some of the major newspapers in the country, as well as in the Pet Care Forum of America Online. Gina is a contributing editor and essayist for Pets.com, the leading pet store on the Internet, and she has also written extensively about pets for both pet-related and mainstream magazines.
The Dog Writers Association of America presented Dogs For Dummies with the Presidents Award for the best writing on dogs and the Maxwell Medallion for best general reference book. The Cat Writers Association hailed Cats For Dummies as the Best Work on Responsible Cat Care, Best Work on Feline Nutrition, and Best Work on Feline Behavior.
Gina lives in Sacramento, California, with Patrick, a Senegal parrot; Andy, a Shetland sheepdog; and two flat-coated retrievers, Heather and Benjamin.
Brian L. Speer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (Avian Practice), ECAMS, is one of only a handful of veterinarians certified as an avian specialist in both the United States and in Europe. His specialty practice, The Medical Center for Birds, draws its clientele from all over Northern California, and he consults on cases around the globe.
A graduate of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Speer has limited his practice to birds since 1989, treating everything from budgies and cockatiels to storks and condors. Dr. Speer has lectured in the United States, Canada, and Australia to both veterinary and avicultural audiences. He is the author of many articles in both the academic and mainstream press and serves as an expert legal witness on avian matters. Active in the Association of Avian Veterinarians, he has served as chair of the aviculture committee, as a member of the board of directors, and is currently serving as the groups president. He is an avian-medicine consultant to the Veterinary Information Network.
Dr. Speer lives on the fringes of the San Francisco Bay Area on a two-acre bird ranch populated with everything from a turkey named Margie to an ostrich named Bart Junior (BJ), with parrots, chickens, geese, emus, and more filling out the flock. He and his incredibly understanding wife, Denise, have two children, Robin and Cody, both of whom find birds quite boring but tolerate dad and his flock very well, all things considered.
Dedication
Gina: To the amazing Margarets, Peggy Conway and Peg Gavel, true animal-lovers and even better friends, and to Patrick, the Senegal parrot who is my adored little muse.
Brian: To my wife, Denise, and our children, Robin and Cody, because so much of what I am and what I do is because they have made me whole in so many ways. To my parents, my instructors and mentors, my patients, and my clients all of whom have taught me so well over the years and continue to do so every day. And to my first bird, Toby, a blue-and-gold macaw who showed me how cool birds are, and truly opened up my mind and heart to them.
Publishers Acknowledgments
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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions and Editorial
Project Editors: Christine Meloy Beck, Jennifer Ehrlich
Acquisitions Editor: Stacy S. Collins
Copy Editors: Linda S. Stark, Elizabeth Netedu Kuball
Technical Editor: William G. Porte, MBA, DVM
Editorial Coordinator: Maureen F. Kelly
Associate Permissions Editor: Carmen Krikorian
Editorial Managers: Mary C. Corder, Jennifer Ehrlich
Editorial Assistant: Alison Walthall
Production
Project Coordinator: Maridee V. Ennis
Layout and Graphics: Amy A. Adrian, Angela F. Hunckler, Kate Jenkins, Barry Offringa, Jill Piscitelli, Douglas L. Rollison, Brent Savage, Janet Seib, Maggie Ubertini, Mary Jo Weis, Dan Whetstine